Fiction Book Reviews: 1/18/2010
Reviews of New Fiction, Mystery, Science Fiction and Comics

Jan 18, 2010

Heart of the Matter Emily Giffin. St. Martin's, $26.99 (384p) ISBN 978-0-312-55416-3

In the popular Giffin's latest, Nick Russo is a pediatric plastic surgeon; his wife, Tessa (sister of Dex, from Something Borrowed), is a professor turned stay-at-home mom living a cushy life in Boston. Nick is called in to care for a six-year-old burn victim, and Nick's devotion to his work is soon tangled up in his attraction to the boy's mother, Valerie, a single attorney. Narrated in turn by Tessa and Valerie, the action centers around—will they or won't they, and, if they do, will Tessa forgive him? While unclear what Nick finds so unsatisfying in his marriage, adultery is always tempting and Tessa and Valerie both have their charms. Longtime fans will enjoy the cameos, but for the best of Giffin, don't miss her earlier works. (May)

The Red Thread Ann Hood. Norton, $23.95 (256p) ISBN 978-0-393-07020-0

In her engaging new tearjerker, Hood (The Knitting Circle) follows several families as they attempt to adopt daughters from China. Holding down the center is Maya Lange, who, as head of the Red Thread Adoption Agency, is the prospective parents' guide through the adoption process. Childless Maya is driven by a desire to make amends for a tragic accident in her past, though her clients have their own share of heartbreak—miscarriages and infertility—and, predictably, the expectations and reservations about parenthood that they confide to Maya are shaped by a host of personal issues. In a nod to Hood's last novel, several women knit to calm their nerves as they await their new daughters. Meanwhile, Maya, also a knitter, takes painful steps toward letting go of the past. The individual arcs are woven together beautifully, though the interspersed tales of how the Chinese children came to be abandoned tend to clutter more than add. Regardless, Hood's sensitive depiction of her characters' hopes and fears makes for a moving story of dedication, forgiveness, and love. (May)

The Lake Shore Limited Sue Miller. Knopf, $25.95 (288p) ISBN 978-0-307-26421-3

Four people are bound together by the 9/11 death of a man in Miller's insightful latest. Leslie, older sister and stand-in mother to the late Gus, clings to the notion that Gus had found true love with his girlfriend, Billy, before he was killed. But the truth is more complicated: Billy, a playwright, has written a new play that explores the agonizing hours when a family gathers, not knowing the fate of their mother and wife who was aboard a train that has been bombed. The ambivalent reaction of the woman's husband has shades of Billy and Gus's relationship, particularly the limbo she's been in since he died. Rafe, the actor playing the ambivalent husband, processes his own grief and guilt about his terminally ill wife as he steps more and more into his character. Finally, there's Sam, an old friend Leslie now hopes to set up with Billy. While the plot doesn't have the suspense and zip of The Senator's Wife, Miller's take on post-9/11 America is fascinating and perfectly balanced with her writerly meditations on the destructiveness of trauma and loss, and the creation and experience of art. (Apr.)

Men and Dogs Katie Crouch. Little, Brown, $23.99 (288p) ISBN 978-0-316-00213-4

Crouch's accomplished sophomore novel kicks off with a flashback: 20-odd years ago, Buzz Legare vanished while on a fishing trip. The fallout of his disappearance and presumed death appears in his 30-something children: Hannah drinks too much, her business is failing, and her husband has kicked her out after her repeated adultery. Hannah's gay brother, Palmer, refuses to let anyone get too close—he's ready to end his yearlong relationship when his partner brings up the idea of adopting a baby. After Hannah injures herself trying to break into her husband's apartment, she heads home to Charleston, S.C., to get her life back on track, but instead finds herself pursuing the past. Damaged and vulnerable, she zigzags through her past—an old boyfriend, questions about her parents' fidelity, and finally facing down where her unwillingness to accept love has gotten her. There's nothing unique about the premise—woman in crisis goes home and discovers herself by exhuming the past—but Crouch (Girls in Trucks) handles it deftly; her dialogue is snappy, the situations darkly funny, Hannah and Palmer are unlikable but sympathetic, and there's just enough mystery to keep the pages turning. (Apr.)

All That Follows Jim Crace. Doubleday, $24.95 (240p) ISBN 978-0-385-52076-8

Leonard Lessing, the British protagonist of Crace's surprisingly bad 10th novel (after The Pesthouse), has Walter Mitty—like dreams of being a revolutionary that are invariably short-circuited by his fear of making a disturbance. In 2006, Leonard, while in Austin, Tex., to reconnect with ex-flame Nadia, is bullied into assuming the role of activist by Maxie, the founder of Snipers Without Bullets, who is living with Nadia and who has gotten her pregnant. Though Maxie appalls Leonard, he nevertheless halfheartedly takes part in an “action” against Laura Bush that leads to Nadia's arrest and her daughter, Lucy, being born in prison. Eighteen years later, Leonard sees a news story about Maxie, who has taken a British family hostage. While gawking at the proceedings, Leonard runs into Lucy and gets drawn, once again, into a cockeyed scheme that begins Leonard's unlikely reunion with Nadia and a partial, ironic fulfillment of his dream of being an iconic radical. Unfortunately, Crace's novel is held hostage by the listlessness that emanates from chickenhearted Leonard and the embarrassing stereotypes that clutter many of the scenes, especially those set in Texas. This is a feeble effort for a novelist of Crace's stature. (Apr.)

Broken Glass Park Alina Bronsky, trans. from the German by Tim Mohr. Europa (Penguin, dist.), $15 paper (224p) ISBN 978-1-933372-96-9

In her riveting debut, Bronsky gives us Sascha Naimann, a 17-year-old Russian immigrant living in Germany who narrates a brutal story with a sharp, canny voice. Sascha is determined to kill her stepfather, Vadim, who murdered her mother, but with Vadim in prison and social workers hovering, Vadim's cousin, Maria, arrives to care for Sascha and her younger stepsiblings. A puff piece in the local paper about Vadim's supposed reformation sends a livid Sascha to the newspaper office, where she meets Volker Trebur, an editor who, having briefly known Sascha's mother, offers to make things right. Sascha quickly takes him up on the offer, moving in to Volker's guestroom and beginning an intense involvement with Volker's family—particularly his teenage son. When that flames out, Sascha ends up in “broken glass park,” the dangerous area in her neighborhood where drugs, booze, and rough sex prevail. Sascha's hunger for life shines through her relentless fight to leave behind a painful childhood—a struggle complicated by an unexpected twist in the final act—making for a stark, moving tale of resiliency and survival. (Apr.)

Pretend All Your Life Joseph Mackin. Permanent, $26 (200p) ISBN 978-1-57962-196-4

Mackin's bleak debut traces six disastrous days in the life of Dr. Richard Gallin, a plastic surgeon living in post-9/11 New York City. Gallin is besieged on all fronts: his practice is hemorrhaging money, his personal life is in shambles, he is the subject of an upcoming exposé for his decision to fire an HIV-positive assistant, and his case of middle-aged ennui is compounded by the death of his son, Bernardo, who worked in one of the twin towers. As Mackin puts the screws to Gallin, things quickly go from bad to worse. Gallin is a grade-A jerk and is so rooted in the past that his present barely exists, and while Mackin has a hard time building sympathy for him, the secondary characters are reliably excellent and provide the book's best moments. By the end, old sorrows will be aired again and combined with fresh disasters as the troupe of damaged New Yorkers stumble toward the tragic conclusion. (Apr.)

The Spellmans Strike Again Lisa Lutz. Simon & Schuster, $25 (400p) ISBN 978-1-4165-9340-9

In Edgar-finalist Lutz's entertaining fourth and final novel about the eccentric Spellman PI clan (after Revenge of the Spellmans), Isabel “Izzy” Spellman juggles the usual family drama—her mother tries to sabotage Izzy's relationship with her Irish bartender boyfriend and younger sister Rae throws herself into freeing a wrongly convicted man—while helping to drum up business in a dreary economy. While Rae works on her “Free Schmidt” campaign, Izzy investigates the whereabouts of a missing valet with a checkered past and sifts through garbage for a screenwriter client. Older brother David, the only Spellman not involved in the family business, grows closer to his defense attorney girlfriend. On the sly, Izzy is also tailing Rick Harkey, a rival San Francisco PI, and discovers that Harkey left behind a trail of suspicious arrests and conveniently misplaced evidence in his career as a cop. Narrator Izzy's biting wit—mixed with a refreshing dose of humility and sadness—easily carries the story. (Mar.)

The Devil's Star Jo Nesbø, trans. from the Norwegian by Don Bartlett. Harper, $25.99 (320p) ISBN 978-0-06-113397-8

A serial killer taunts Harry Hole in Nesbø's searing third crime novel to feature the Oslo police detective to be made available in the U.S. (after Nemesis). Still suffering from alcohol-fueled demons and obsessed with hunting for evidence against a clearly dirty cop, Hole grudgingly agrees to help look into the murder of a woman whose finger has been amputated and a red diamond stuck under her eyelid. More bodies follow, with the murderer leaving identical five-pointed diamonds (the titular devil's star) at each crime scene. At first the killings appear to be random, but Hole soon discovers an ominous pattern. Nesbø brilliantly incorporates threads from earlier novels, including Hole's often tumultuous relationship with his lover, Rakel, without ever losing the current story's rhythm. Even with—or perhaps because of—his flaws, Hole is arguably one of today's most fascinating fictional detectives. 5-city author tour. (Mar.)

Shattered Karen Robards. Putnam, $25.95 (400p) ISBN 978-0-399-15627-4

After Lisa Grant loses her job at a Lexington, Ky., law firm in this seductive romantic thriller from bestseller Robards (Pursuit), she heads home to Grayson Springs, a once thriving Kentucky horse farm, owned by her mother, who's dying from ALS. Lisa becomes a research assistant for former crush Scott Buchanan, the Lexington-Fayette County DA. While she initially finds Scott's grumpy personality unappealing, she begins to feel differently after looking into a cold case: the inexplicable disappearance of Michael and Angela Garcia and their two children, Tony and Marisa, in 1981. Astonishingly, Lisa discovers that both a treasured childhood doll and herself as a young girl resemble Marisa. Lisa's informal investigation leads to dangerous repercussions, including an act of arson at Grayson Springs, in which she and her mother almost perish. Scott's timely rescue tightens their budding relationship as the action builds to a startling if far-fetched conclusion. (Mar.)

Snowbound Richard S. Wheeler. Forge, $25.99 (304p) ISBN 978-0-7653-1662-2

Six-time Spur Award—winner Wheeler takes on the charismatic, unpredictable, and enigmatic 19th-century explorer John Frémont in this rich if overstuffed survival tale. The story begins in 1847 with Frémont losing a court-martial for mutiny and disobedience, but Frémont isn't down for long: his senator father-in-law gets Frémont set up to conduct a survey for a proposed railroad line connecting St. Louis and San Francisco. A revolving cast of narrators—Frémont, other historical figures, and fictional characters—chronicle the expedition into the Colorado mountains as winter begins, and it becomes apparent that they are falling behind schedule and are ever closer to starvation or freezing to death. Wheeler skillfully depicts the extreme conditions (“King was gaunt and drawn, the flesh gone from his face, his eyes sunk in pits.... Williams had crawled inside himself. There were great icicles hanging from his beard”), though the attentions of many narrators can tend toward the redundant and slow down what is otherwise a dramatic and colorful epic that should hook even those who already know how everything turns out. (Mar.)

If the Dead Rise Not: A Bernie Gunther Novel Philip Kerr. Putnam/Marian Wood, $26.95 (448p) ISBN 978-0-399-15615-1

Both newcomers and established fans will appreciate Kerr's outstanding sixth Bernie Gunther novel (after A Quiet Flame), as it fills in much of the German PI's backstory. By 1934, as the Nazis tighten their grip on power, Gunther has left the Berlin police force for a job as a hotel detective. His routine inquiry into the theft of a Chinese box from a guest, a German-American from New York, becomes more complex after he learns that the identical objet d'art was reported stolen just the previous day by an official from the Asiatic Museum. The case proves to be connected with German efforts to forestall an American boycott of the 1936 Olympics, and provides ample opportunities for Gunther, whom Sam Spade would have found a kindred spirit, to make difficult moral choices. Once again the author smoothly integrates a noir crime plot with an authentic historical background. Note that the action precedes the events recounted in the series' debut, March Violets (1989). (Mar.)

Capitol Betrayal William Bernhardt. Ballantine, $26 (352p) ISBN 978-0-345-50301-5

Ben Kincaid has lost his bid to be elected to the U.S. Senate in Bernhardt's less than credible 18th thriller to feature the honorable Oklahoma lawyer (after Capitol Offense). Ben's wife, Christina McCall, also a practicing attorney, has moved the family law firm to Washington, D.C., and is in charge of operations, while Ben works on legal issues for the newly elected U.S. president, Roland Kyler. Ben is at the White House with the president, the vice president, and other cabinet members when they learn that the nation is under missile attack. Ben and the others rush to an underground shelter deep beneath the White House, where the vice president makes a bid to replace Kyler, who's been acting bizarrely. This results in a trial of sorts, with Ben defending the president. A side plot starring Seamus McKay, a CIA agent in the James Bond mold, takes place topside while the trial grinds on below. At times the action borders on the silly, though series fans are unlikely to mind. (Mar.)

The Memory Thief Rachel Keener. Hachette/Center Street, $13.99 paper (384p) ISBN 978-1-59995-112-6

Keener's uneven second novel (after The Killing Tree) is the soapy story of Hannah, raised by “holy rollers,” and the illegitimate daughter she is forced to abandon. When Hannah is a teenager, her parents move her and her adopted sister to James Island, S.C., where Hannah relishes her one freedom—exploring the island on the bike her father gives her. One day, while out on a ride, she sees a help-wanted sign for a cleaning lady at a motel. There, she meets the handsome Sam, a local football hero, but he's predictably full of empty promises and leaves Hannah pregnant and heartbroken, her pain compounded by her mother forcing her to give the baby away. Her daughter, Angel, faces torments of her own: raised in a broken home that she eventually torches, Angel is as lost as her mother. Though Keener tries hard to dig deep into her two protagonists as they meander toward reunion, Hannah and Angel never escape their clichéd circumstances. Still, like any cheesy drama, it will be difficult to put down by some. (Mar.)

Perfect Peace Daniel Omotosho Black. St. Martin's, $25.99 (352p) ISBN 978-0-312-58267-8

Black (The Sacred Place) explores the fateful decision of Emma Jean Peace to raise her seventh son, Perfect, as the daughter she has always wanted. Her plan, nutty as it is, works out until Perfect is eight years old and his blind older brother, Bartimaeus, makes an innocent discovery about his sister's body. Soon after, Perfect's friends begin talk of womanhood, prompting Emma Jean to reveal to Perfect the truth. So begins an education for Perfect—rechristened Paul—on manhood while his small Arkansas town casts an unforgiving eye on its newest curiosity. While the rural South backdrop is overly familiar and the dialogue is painfully hoary (“What chu talkin' 'bout, Emma Jean?”), Black manages a nuanced exploration of sexual identity and social structures without elevating his characters to angels or martyrs. (Mar.)

Hard Rain David Rollins. Bantam, $26 (400p) ISBN 978-0-553-80536-9

Maj. Vin Cooper, a special agent, or “internal affairs cop,” for the United States Air Force office of special investigations, and special agent Anna Masters, who recently broke up with Vin and is now “swinging from the chandelier for some attorney from the JAG corps,” deal with one lethal threat after another in Rollins's rip-roaring third novel to feature the tough, wisecracking Cooper (after The Death Trust and A Knife Edge). Vin and Anna have come to Istanbul to investigate the murder of Col. Emmet Portman, the U.S. air attaché to Turkey, who's been chopped into small pieces and laid out like a model airplane kit that requires assembly. As the pair seek answers in Turkey and later Paris and Iraq, they leave behind a lot of bodies, both friend and foe. The convoluted trail leads them to a plot involving many countries, none of which has America's best interests at heart. The exciting, violent ending promises more thrills to come. (Mar.)

Blood Vines Erica Spindler. St. Martin's, $24.99 (352p) ISBN 978-0-312-36392-5

Bestseller Spindler's underwhelming stand-alone stars Alexandra Clarkson, a doctoral student finishing her thesis in human belief systems, who was raised in San Francisco by her unstable mother, Patsy, not knowing who her father was. When Patsy is found dead, Alexandra questions whether it was by her own hand or if it's linked to a years-old crime in nearby Sonoma County—the apparent kidnapping of baby Dylan Sommer, the son of Harlan Sommer, of the Sommer family wine dynasty, and, as Alex discovers, Harlan's then wife, her mother, Patsy. Keen to find out her father's identity, Alex relocates to wine country, where she learns about the repressed first five years of her own life. Despite the happy family reunion, not everyone is pleased with Alex's return to the area, so Spindler (Breakneck) stirs the pot with a few instances of ritual sacrifice and not-so-coincidental deaths. In the end, a tidy resolution substitutes for the mouth-dropping revelation many thriller fans will expect. (Mar.)

Brigid of Kildare Heather Terrell. Ballantine, $15 paper (256p) ISBN 978-0-345-50512-5

Bookish appraiser Alexandra Patterson uncovers the secret history of a renegade saint in Terrell's subdued third novel (after The Map Thief). In need of funds to spread their saint's message, the Sisters of St. Brigid decide to sell off a clutch of gold and jeweled relics. In her assessment of their value, Alexandra discovers an ancient manuscript that just might be the lost Book of Kildare, an illuminated manuscript that surpasses in beauty the Book of Kells. She confers with Trinity College professor and old flame Declan Lamb, who backs her hunch. As these contemporary amateur sleuths uncover the manuscript's mysterious origins, Terrell traces in a second plot line the life of Brigid and her faithful scribe, Decius. Despite a promising premise, Terrell's matter-of-fact storytelling and dry weaving of past and present leaves little mystery or magic for readers to pursue. (Mar.)

If You Follow Me Malena Watrous. Harper Perennial, $14.99 paper (384p) ISBN 978-0-06-173285-0

In Watrous's proficient debut, 22-year-old Marina and her girlfriend Carolyn are new residents in a quirky Japanese town where they teach English while learning their own lessons about gomi, or garbage disposal. Aside from the local obsession with trash, living in smalltown Shika is a welcome respite for Marina, who grapples with her father's suicide (he was indirectly responsible for her introduction to Carolyn; they met in a bereavement group), and although she hopes to move past his death during her year in Japan, he begins to feel more alive to her, as if his presence made the trip as well. Meanwhile, the peculiar absurdities of being a stranger in a strange land abound (how does one properly dispose of a refrigerator?), and though this tale of culture shock, growing up, and throwing out isn't especially distinguished from its fish-out-of-water peers, it does the trick as a diversion. (Mar.)

Bulletproof Mascara Bethany Maines. Atria, $15 paper (400p) ISBN 978-0-7432-9277-1

In Maines's delicious spy spoof debut, wide-eyed linguist Nikki Lanier joins the “confidential side” of Carrie Mae, a cosmetics giant like Mary Kay or Avon, whose charity foundation uses covert means to help women. Nikki doesn't bat an eyelash as she undergoes rigorous training at the company's academy in Santa Clarita, Calif., where female spies are stylishly equipped with gizmos like “pepper spray perfume, flash grenade lipsticks, mini-scanner compacts, knockout breath mints, acid nail polish, plastic explosive foundation, and stiletto stilettos.” With Valerie Robinson, a jaded pro, Nikki embarks on her first mission, to rescue Lawan Chinnawat, “one of the loudest voices protesting the sex trade that flourishes throughout Asia,” who's been abducted. The plot takes a few surprise twists before reaching the exciting climax. Maines deftly combines humor with action in this fashion-forward thriller, which will remind many of such TV shows as Charlie's Angels, Alias, and Heroes. (Mar.)

The Serialist David Gordon. Simon & Schuster, $15 paper (352p) ISBN 978-1-4391-5848-7

A seedy freelance writer provides the wry narrative voice for Gordon's winning debut, a darkly humorous thriller. New Yorker Harry Bloch, who once had lofty literary ambitions, has spent the past two decades as a hack, mostly as an advice columnist called the Slut Whisperer for Raunchy magazine. Bloch also earns cash by doing homework for affluent private school students, a side business managed by a precocious teenage girl who was the first pupil he was paid to tutor. His boring life takes an unexpected turn after he receives a letter from death-row inmate Darian Clay (aka the Photo Killer), who, as a fan of the Slut Whisperer, thinks Bloch is right for the job of assisting him on his memoirs. In exchange for Clay revealing where he concealed the heads of his female victims, Bloch must seek out women who have written to Clay and write stories about their having sex with the serial killer. A number of plausible plot twists help shift the story from farce to whodunit. (Mar.)

Blood Sunset Jarad Henry. Arena (IPG, dist.), $16.95 paper (336p) ISBN 978-1-74175-420-9

Bushfires cast a shroud of smoke over Melbourne in this solid police procedural as Det. Sgt. Rubens “Rubes” McCauley returns to duty as part of St. Kilda's criminal investigation unit after suffering a near-fatal gunshot wound in Australian author Henry's debut, Head Shot. Rubes believes he's ready for the streets, but his call of “nil suspicious circumstances” on a teenage overdose nags at him. Soon the detective realizes it was murder, setting him on the trail of a network of pedophiles preying on the district and an international ring of child pornographers. Henry throws in all the expected cop shop elements—the disapproving supervisor, spunky sidekick, ex-wife, impassioned speeches—dotting every “I” and crossing every “T” en route to one climax after another. The action never quite goes viral, but crime fans ought to like the seedy St. Kilda setting, where the cops “might rub you the wrong way, maybe even disrespect you, but they'll never go lazy on you.” (Mar.)

The Silver Eagle Ben Kane. St. Martin's, $25.99 (480p) ISBN 978-0-312-53672-5

Kane's ambitious sequel to The Forgotten Legion continues his chronicle of life in the tumultuous Roman Republic. After four years as a prostitute, Fabiola becomes the lover of the powerful Decimus Brutus, a top lieutenant of Julius Caesar. Her two fiery obsessions are to exploit her social status to track down her rapist father and to reunite with her brother, Romulus, a gladiator turned legionnaire captured by the Parthians at Carrahae. Forced to serve in the Parthian army, Romulus dreams of returning to his native Rome, his quest helped along by a soothsayer and a soldier from Gaul. The siblings' parallel adventures unfold in propulsive alternating chapters, with military campaigns and pitched battles making up the bulk of the narrative excitement. The historical details, graphic combat sequences, and finely drawn characters lift Kane's title above standard swords-and-sandals fare and should keep series fans sated until the next installment. (Mar.)

Further Adventures in the Restless Universe: Stories Dawn Raffel. Dzanc (Consortium, dist.), $14.95 paper (100p) ISBN 978-0-9767177-9-9

In her elegant second collection (after the novel Carrying the Body), Raffel finds lyrical appeasement in the everyday concerns of raising children, being a dutiful daughter and wife, and simply enduring one's family. The mother of a seven-year-old son in “Her Purchase” is viewed as a master of the child's universe, teaching him everything he knows, exhausted by his constant asking of questions, yet amazed, too, that she can still cherish his happiness. Raffel employs mannered dialogue to artful effect throughout, such as the phone conversation between two sisters in “The Interruption,” in which one attempts to tell the story of how their great-aunt came from Poland to Chicago, but spirals into a halfhearted musing on frustrations in love. The mother-daughter getaway depicted in “North of the Middle” allows the pair to dissect their frozen relationship in conversations that underscore their inability to communicate. “The Air and Its Relatives” is a marvelous glimpse at the evolution of a father-daughter relationship through snapshots of his teaching her to drive and other telling flashbacks. Raffel's stripped-to-the-bone prose is a model of economy and grace. (Mar.)

Eden Springs Laura Kasischke. Wayne State Univ., $18.95 paper (160p) ISBN 978-0-8143-3464-5

A beautifully polished, evocative tale by poet, novelist, and Guggenheim fellow Kasischke (In a Perfect World) pursues an early 20th-century utopian community in Benton Harbor, Mich., and its eventual derailment. The author depicts the evolution of the colony, called the House of David, founded in 1903 by Benjamin Purnell, a charismatic young man who converts followers—especially young women—with his visionary preaching and persuades them to await the end of the world at the cluster of mansions they build amid the luxuriant orchards of Benton Harbor. Dressed in white and prohibited from cutting their hair, Benjamin's followers come from all over the world, but by April 1923, a suspicious death has occurred at the colony, and “King Benjamin” and his assistant—former teacher turned lover Cora Moon—try to cover it up. One jealous anointed favorite, the teenaged Lena McFarlane, decides to blow the whistle on King Benjamin's seductions of his beautiful angels, leading to a mad rush to smother a simmering scandal. Kasischke explores the sensuous message of this paradisiacal cult, depicting gorgeously a web of irresistible impressions taken as God's truth. (Mar.)

Not Art Péter Esterházy, trans. from Hungarian by Judith Sollosy. Ecco, $14.99 paper (240p) ISBN 978-0-06-179296-0

A great deal feels lost in translation in acclaimed Hungarian author Esterházy's collection of vignettes about the soccer-obsessed mother of an Esterházy-like author. From the very first sentence (it's footnoted) through meta-asides along the lines of “My mother spoke French like my father did in my novels (if he happened to be speaking French)” and a chapter near the end consisting of enigmatic epigrams spoken to or by the author (“You are emotionally unpretentious. [You, dear, are emotionally unpretentious.] Who, me? [Me?]”), the cloying self-references drain what little dramatic tension the largely momentum-free narrative builds. The anecdotes, monologues, and memories that constitute the work progress in apparently random order, although most have to do with the mother, who interprets the world through soccer. The footnotes about soccer and Hungarian history are refreshingly concise, and some early passages contain interesting details about life in Communist Hungary. Once in a while, Esterházy's style and subject matter spark a stray profundity, but this rambling, pretentious book will leave readers wondering what the point is. (Mar.)

Unforgivable Philippe Djian, trans. from the French by Euan Cameron. Simon & Schuster, $24 (256p) ISBN 978-1-4391-6441-9

Billed as a literary thriller, this clever if downbeat novel from French author Djian (Betty Blue) is likely to appeal more to mainstream readers than genre fans. Francis, a fussy, 60-year-old writer, and his second wife, who live in a tiny village on France's Atlantic coast, await the arrival of his screen actress daughter, Alice. When Alice fails to show, her husband reveals that she's missing and presumed kidnapped. Unhappy with the police response, Francis hires PI Anne-Marguerite Lémo, who happens to be a casual lover of his from years ago, to look for Alice. Anne-Marguerite's misfit son, Jérémie, who's been recently released from prison, joins the group orbiting the not particularly likable Francis. Djian slowly discloses the story of Alice and Francis in flashbacks and flash forwards, an unusual approach that lends the book much of its interest. The mystery of Alice's disappearance serves mainly as a vehicle for exploring the various personal relationships. (Mar.)

The Moses Expedition Juan Gómez-Jurado, trans. from the Spanish by A.V. Lebrón. Atria, $15 paper (384p) ISBN 978-1-4165-9064-4

In Gómez-Jurado's unoriginal, intermittently exciting religious thriller, two characters from the Spanish author's internationally bestselling first novel, God's Spy—Fr. Anthony Fowler, who works for both the CIA and the Vatican secret service, and Andrea Otero, a plucky El Globo journalist—become involved in a secret archeology expedition to Jordan. Raymond Kahn, the eccentric and reclusive chief of Kayn Industries, hopes the team will recover that elusive treasure beloved by many school-of-Dan-Brown writers, the Ark of the Covenant. Several terrorist groups are targeting the expedition, and one by one people turn up dead. U.S. readers who just can't get enough of the Ark would be better off watching yet again the first Indiana Jones flick, The Raiders of the Lost Ark. (Mar.)

A Town Called Immaculate Peter Anthony. Pan (IPG dist.), $14.95 paper (304p) ISBN 978-0-230-70063-5

Fans of Jan Karon's Mitford novels will best appreciate Anthony's debut, a religious soap opera set one eventful Christmas Eve in the town of Immaculate, Minn. Farmer Ray Marak, a Vietnam vet wounded both in body and spirit, has built a family with his librarian wife, Renee, who years earlier left college in order to care for Ray as well as her widowed father. Given their debts, Renee fears this Christmas will be the last they spend on the farm. Meanwhile, bank manager Josh Werther, who once had a thing for Renee, can't resist the flirtatious advances of a much younger female teller. Aware that a huge snowstorm is bearing down on the community, Father Dimer warns his flock not to venture out on dangerous roads to attend midnight Mass. A series of contrived coincidences, which lead to a dramatic and violent confrontation, may invoke groans from those unable to buy into the author's themes of trial and redemption. (Mar.)

Moonglade Mary Fremont Schoenecker. Five Star, $25.95 (222p) ISBN 978-1-59414-885-9

At the start of Schoenecker's light novel of romantic suspense, the second in her Maine Shore Chronicles series (after Finding Fiona), ER nurse Clare Chamberlaine, while taking a sailing lesson in Saco Bay, notices a dead body entangled in a buoy. Sgt. Remi Windspirit, of the Maine Marine Patrol, takes charge of identifying the female victim in what proves to be a murder case, which soon becomes complicated by Remi and Clare's strong mutual attraction. Meanwhile, the woman Clare calls Tante Margaret, who raised Clare, uses her clairvoyant skills to offer vital clues to the investigation. Beautiful descriptions of Maine's coastal landscapes combined with warm and lovable characters will leave fans of sweet cozies eager for the next installment. (Mar.)

The Pearls of the Stone Man Edward Mooney Jr. Sourcebooks, $12.99 paper (352p) ISBN 978-1-4022-3831-4

Joseph and Anne Marino's idyllic 50-year marriage is rocked in this pedestrian inspirational tearjerker when Anne is diagnosed with a terminal heart condition. Joseph tries to make her last few months as comfortable as possible, but all Anne wants is for Joseph to finish the stone wall he's been promising to build and to make peace with their estranged son. In the process, they also take on wayward teen Shannon, who desperately needs a parental figure. Once Anne dies, Shannon tries to comfort Joseph, who continues to build the stone wall in Anne's memory. The reading experience is nothing short of excruciating: the characters are caricatures, their motivations are simplistic, and the plot is pat and uninteresting. If there's merit here, it's deeply hidden. (Mar.)

Here Burns My Candle Liz Curtis Higgs. WaterBrook, $14.99 (480p) ISBN 978-1-4000-7001-5

Prolific and popular Christy winner Higgs (Whence Came a Prince) returns to Scotland with this historical tale set in the 1745 Jacobite rebellion led by Charles Edward Stuart, grandson of the deposed King James. In Edinburgh, Lady Elisabeth Kerr brings beauty, modest origins, and Highland-born sympathy for Bonnie Prince Charlie to her marriage to the handsome royalist Lord Donald Kerr, who loves his wife and has an eye for beautiful women. She secretly follows the auld ways, pagan worship of the moon. Donald, too, has his secret affairs; his widowed mother, Dowager Lady Marjory Kerr, has bags of gold hidden away. The story begins slowly, picking up speed after characters and tensions are introduced and rebellious forces take Edinburgh. The characters are remarkably flawed—the better to be redeemed in an evangelical Christian novel—though Donald's flaws and Elisabeth's notable patience may try some readers' patience. Higgs is a stickler for period authenticity and has done her homework on history and dialect. Fans have been waiting five years for this novel and will not be disappointed. (Mar.)

Enemies Among Us Bob Hamer. Fidelis, $14.99 paper (288p) ISBN 978-0-8054-4978-5

Novels about undercover FBI agents nabbing terrorists are more credible when written by former FBI agents. Hamer's nearly three decades as a street agent gives weight to this thriller about erstwhile reckless agent Matt Hogan's redemption with the agency, his wife, and guilt-ridden past. In order to save his job, Hogan must leave his dangerous operations and infiltrate a Christian hospital, which he sees as a red herring to get him off the streets. But as the hospital is suspected of helping terrorists, Hogan has never had a more important assignment. Beyond thriller-speed action, the author includes references to Osama bin Laden, reflections on the difference between guilt and shame societies, and just enough hot married love for Christian fiction. Suspense is often pre-empted by unnecessary spoilers in the middle of the action: “Fate was about to confront the team.” Otherwise few flaws mar what is a page-turning roller coaster that feels like Jack Bauer's 24 without sailing over the top. Stereotype-bending dialogue and believable characters elicit fear of evil and call forth hope that good exists in all ethnicities and religions. (Mar.)

Mystery

The Significant Seven John McEvoy. Poisoned Pen, $24.95 (286p) ISBN 978-1-59058-705-8; $14.95 paper ISBN 978-1-59058-715-7

In McEvoy's fine fourth horse racing mystery (after 2008's Close Call), FBI agents persuade reluctant sleuth Jack Doyle to work undercover for a Chicago trainer to discover the culprits fixing races by “sponging” the favorite, an ugly practice that deprives the horse of enough oxygen to race effectively. Interwoven is the feel-good story of the Significant Seven—seven middle-aged friends who parlayed a huge pari-mutuel win into a small but successful racing syndicate thanks to the racing and stud career of a horse named the Badger Express. Seven years after their initial win, a pair of trained killers, both ex-navy SEALs, begin systematically eliminating the syndicate members. When Jack becomes suspicious about their deaths, he also becomes a target. McEvoy is a racing expert whose knowledge permeates the pages, and, like any good tout, he's full of amusing stories about horses, bettors, and trackmen. (Apr.)

Snakes Can't Run Ed Lin. Minotaur, $24.99 (288p) ISBN 978-0-312-56988-4

Set in New York City in 1976, Lin's accomplished second novel to feature NYPD detective Robert Chow (after 2007's This Is a Bust) finds the Chinese-American cop, who's still haunted by memories of his service in the Vietnam War, relegated to undercover work posing as a Con Ed worker. Meanwhile, other officers in Chow's precinct are focused on apprehending the FALN terrorists who set off a bomb right outside police headquarters. The murders of two Asian men, who are shot and dumped under the Manhattan Bridge, take Chow away from the drudgery of his undercover assignment and onto the trail of the head of a ring of human smugglers known as snakeheads. Lin portrays the police, including his lead, warts and all, and paints a convincing picture of Manhattan's Chinatown. Readers interested in the integration of Asian-Americans into American society, as well as those who like gritty procedurals, will be well rewarded. (Mar.)

The Teaberry Strangler: A Tea Shop Mystery Laura Childs. Berkley Prime Crime, $24.95 (320p) ISBN 978-0-425-23245-3

Set in Charleston, S.C., Childs's tepid 11th tea-themed puzzler (after 2009's Oolong Dead) offers an elegant heroine in her 30s who some readers may feel too often acts like an old lady. One rainy March evening, while walking along a cobblestone alley, Theodosia Browning, the proprietor of the Indigo Tea Shop, spots Daria Shand, her good friend and owner of a neighboring shop, in a “nasty struggle” with an unknown assailant. The attacker flees at Theodosia's approach, leaving Daria dead in the alley. A minty fragrance Theodosia detects at the crime scene may provide a useful clue in her informal murder investigation. Childs supplies plenty of touristy asides as well as savory details about teas and gourmet goodies, if at the expense of the action. The continuing animosity between police detective Burt Tidwell and Theodosia adds some tension, but the mystery never quite catches fire as it simmers to a close. (Mar.)

Scandal on Rincon Hill: A Sarah Woolson Mystery Shirley Tallman. Minotaur, $24.99 (336p) ISBN 978-0-312-38697-9

The lack of a satisfying solution to the whodunit at the heart of Tallman's fourth historical set in 19th-century San Francisco (after 2007's The Cliff House Strangler) is the only real flaw in an otherwise solid read. Idealistic and iconoclastic attorney Sarah Woolson investigates the bludgeoning murder of botanist Nigel Logan, who was at a party with Woolson's judge father only the night before and whose body was found near the Woolson home. Several days later, a friend of Logan's, a church deacon, apparently falls victim to the same killer. When the police latch onto some Chinese immigrants as the culprits, despite the absence of any real evidence, Woolson bravely takes on their defense. Convincing period detail supports an engaging lead who's a more plausible character than, say, Rhys Bowen's Molly Murphy, a PI in early 20th-century New York City. The romantic subplots don't overwhelm the mystery, but the ending will surprise few. (Mar.)

Apple Turnover Murder Joanne Fluke. Kensington, $24 (304p) ISBN 978-0-7582-3489-6

Cozy fans will welcome bestseller Fluke's charming 13th Hannah Swensen mystery (after 2009's Plum Pudding Murder). Hannah is working long hours at her bakery, the Cookie Jar, in Lake Eden, Minn., as well as dating two men, dentist Norman Rhodes and local sheriff Mike Kingston. Her personal life gets more complicated with the reappearance of Bradford Ramsey, a college professor with whom Hannah had a brief fling when she was a naïve graduate student. Hannah hopes ladies' man Bradford has forgotten the embarrassing episode. When Hannah winds up serving as a magician's assistant for a charity show, she has the misfortune to find Bradford, the show's host, backstage “stone cold dead.” With her usual wit and flair, amateur sleuth Hannah narrows down the list of suspects in Bradford's murder, but can she catch the culprit before she becomes the next victim? Scrumptious recipes include mocha nut butterballs and chocolate marshmallow cookie bars. Author tour. (Mar.)

The Highly Effective Detective Plays the Fool Richard Yancey. Minotaur, $24.99 (256p) ISBN 978-0-312-38309-1

At the start of Yancey's amusing third mystery to feature the endearingly incompetent “Highly Effective Detective” (after 2008's The Highly Effective Detective Goes to the Dogs), a suspicious wife, Katrina Bates, hires PI Teddy Ruzak to investigate her husband. Ruzak's unorthodox methods prompt Bates to fire him (“I didn't hire you to confront him about infidelity; I hired you to confirm the infidelity”). Later, a representative of the wayward spouse approaches Ruzak about obtaining his file on the Bates case. When his ex-client disappears, Ruzak is the only one to suspect foul play. Meanwhile, the manager of his apartment building in Knoxville, Tenn., is demanding that Ruzak get rid of his pet dog, and the PI licensing commission charges him with “practicing private detection without a license.” Ruzak's changing the name on his door to the “Research & Analysis Group” hasn't fooled anyone. The appealing if bizarre narrative voice carries the action briskly along. (Mar.)

The Fall Girl Kaye C. Hill. Crème de la Crime (Dufour, dist.), $14.95 paper (273p) ISBN 978-0-9557078-9-6

British author Hill's smashing sequel to Dead Woman's Shoes (2008) improves on her well-received debut. Lexy Lomax, the estranged trophy wife of wealthy but shady Gerard Warwicke-Holmes, is still lying low in the Suffolk village of Clopwolde-on-Sea, pretending to be a PI, when 16-year-old Rowana Paterson asks Lexy for help. Rowana fears a black magic ritual she performed to attract money killed her late mum's best friend, Elizabeth Cassall. Elizabeth, who appears to have accidentally fallen out of an upstairs window at her cottage, Four Winds, in nearby Freshing Hill six weeks earlier, has left Rowana £30,000 and the cottage. Lexy and her Chihuahua, Kinky, visit Four Winds, where she decides to stay after learning Gerard is lurking in Clopwolde. Meanwhile, the members of a local family, who want to buy Four Winds, are upset Rowana has inherited the cottage. Hill avoids the usual cozy clichés in this cracking good read. (Mar.)

Sick Like That Norman Green. Minotaur, $24.99 (352p) ISBN 978-0-312-38543-9

In Green's strong follow-up to 2009's The Last Gig, Alessandra “Al” Martillo, who works for PI Marty Stiles, is only too glad to turn routine work over while Marty's in rehab, recovering from a gunshot wound, to new gal and fellow Brooklynite, Sarah Waters. While Sarah tries to locate the estranged stepson of a wealthy client, Al attempts to track Sarah's ex-husband, Frank, who disappears after telling Sarah that his luck has changed thanks to a sweet new job that sounds too good to be true. Both cases morph in unexpected directions. Sarah must learn quickly if she's to survive, and Al finds herself trading quips and blows with a variety of thugs and law enforcement officials, from NYPD detectives to unnamed and unidentified Feds. Clever plotting and solutions that require both clear thinking and fast action augment Green's double dose of tough, resilient female characters. (Mar.)

SF/Fantasy/Horror

Full Moon City Edited by Darrell Schweitzer and Martin H. Greenberg. Simon & Schuster/Gallery, $15 paper (320p) ISBN 978-1-4165-8413-1

Weird Tales co-editor (and occasional PW reviewer) Schweitzer and anthology powerhouse Greenberg offer up an uneven collection of urban werewolf tales written by some of fantasy's biggest names. Given the theme, Schweitzer's own contribution, the humorous vampire-centric piece “Kvetchula's Daughter,” is out of place. Far stronger is Holly Black's “The Aarne-Thompson Classification Revue,” in which a werewolf actress explores the power of transformation. Tanith Lee's “Sea Warg” focuses on a more amphibious shape-shifter, while Esther Friesner's “No Children, No Pets” is cleverly executed and entertaining. Very few other stories rise above satisfactory or mildly memorable. For every tale that pushes the boundaries, two more are content to go through the motions, making this a fairly average affair. (Mar.)

Not Less than Gods Kage Baker. Tor, $25.99 (320p) ISBN 978-0-7653-1891-6

The ninth Company novel (after 2007's The Sons of Heaven) introduces Edward Bell-Fairfax, a child of mysterious origins who gradually discovers that he's not quite like ordinary people. Born to an unmarried aristocratic mother, raised by distant foster parents, and spirited away to boarding school by the sinister Dr. Nennys, Bell-Fairfax serves an unhappy stint in the military and afterward is inducted into the Company of scientists and spies. Using messages from the future and Charles-Babbage-meets-Maxwell-Smart “technologia,” Bell-Fairfax travels Europe with his mentor, Ludbridge, attempting to swing the Crimean War in England's favor and learning in the process that achieving utopian goals requires a great deal of dirty work. Plenty of cloak-and-poison-dart action gets the reader through the exhausting Victorian nomenclature (the Aetheric Transmitter, the Ascending Chamber) and discourses on the evils of misused technology. (Mar.)

The Dog of the North Tim Stretton. Macmillan UK/Tor (IPG/Trafalgar Sq., dist.), $14.95 paper (304p) ISBN 978-0-330-46083-5

Debut author Stretton skillfully chronicles court intrigue in rival city-states in this unique fantasy tale. Arren is a young boy taken from poverty and brought into the Lord of Croad's household. Beauceron, the Dog of the North, is a vassal of the Snow King of Mettingloom and obsessive in his desire to capture the city of Croad. Each plot line moves adroitly through themes of love and revenge toward a surprising climax. Stretton adeptly uses courtly, carefully structured discourse and Italianate names and places to evoke an almost Shakespearean atmosphere, providing hints to Beauceron's identity but never giving too much away. This cleverly plotted fantasy mystery is full of intelligent dialogue, enthralling characters, and dramatic world-building that will hold readers' attention to the last page. (Mar.)

Petrodor Joel Shepherd. Pyr, $16 paper (446p) ISBN 978-1-61614-193-6

Picking up where 2009's Sasha ended, Shepherd sets Sasha and her doughty band of human and serrin war leaders in the port city of Petrodor as Sasha's sister Alythia is married off to the noble Halmady family. This peace-treaty marriage sparks a power struggle among the other noble houses, including Steiner House, to which Sasha and Alythia's sister Marye was married. A politically minded archbishop begins bloody machinations that raise the stakes and turn allies into enemies. As in the first volume, the beginning bogs down with many similar names and a huge number of characters who tend to make speeches at one another with a lot of unfamiliar terms, but as soon as the action picks up, the banter, character development, and vivid descriptions build tension toward a gripping climax, leaving tantalizing threads dangling. (Mar.)

Red Inferno: 1945 Robert Conroy. Ballantine, $15 paper (368p) ISBN 978-0-345-50606-1

WWII alternate historian Conroy (1945) sets this tale largely in Berlin as it prepares for division among the four Allied powers in accordance with the Yalta agreements. President Truman doesn't trust Stalin and makes the controversial decision to move his troops across the Elbe River toward Berlin in an attempt to lessen Stalin's growing influence in Europe. The move ignites smoldering tensions between Russia and the States, and Stalin's enormous Red Army attacks its former allies, extending the war and threatening the world. An ensemble cast of fictional characters (an American soldier, a German refugee, a professor of Russian history turned secret agent, etc.) and historical figures powers the meticulously researched story line with diverse accounts of the horrors of war, making this an appealing read for fans of history and alternate history alike. (Mar.)

And Falling, Fly Skyler White. Berkley, $15 paper (352p) ISBN 978-0-425-23234-7

White's debut is a trippy urban fantasy, an esoteric battle between myth and science told in floods of evocative prose. Olivia, a fallen angel cursed to eternity without pain or pleasure, feeds on the blood of those who desire or fear her. Dominic is her polar opposite, a skeptical scientist explaining away the paranormal as mental illness. He immerses himself in neuroscience to seek a cure through selective memory removal; haunted by images of his past lives, he begins experimenting on himself. Looking for research subjects, Dominic finds Olivia. She longs to be set free by love and returned to heaven, but at what price? Reeking of blood and sex, the swaths of atmospheric text sometimes overwhelm the story. Despite the story's enormous plot holes, longtime paranormal fans will appreciate White's willingness to take chances and try something new. (Mar.)

Destination: Future Edited by Z.S. Adani and Eric T. Reynolds. Hadley Rille (Ingram, dist.), $15.95 paper (316p) ISBN 978-0-9825140-9-2

Hiding under dreadful cover art, this exceptional science fiction anthology from Reynolds, publisher of Hadley Rille, and short fiction author Adani explores first contact scenarios and interactions between human and alien cultures. Standout selections include K.D. Wentworth's “The Embians,” in which two postgraduate students researching alien communication stumble across a life-changing revelation; “One Awake in All the World” by Robert T. Jeschonek, an unlikely love story that pits two space-faring “exterminators” against a horde of nightmarish monstrosities; and Michael A. Burstein's sublimely moving “Hope,” about a time traveler who returns to a generation ship to warn his ancestors about their less-than-idyllic destination. The strengths of this 21-story anthology are its diversity, cerebral speculation, and stellar storytelling, which breathe new life into well-worn themes. (Mar.)

Looking for Mr. Piggy-Wig Andy Secombe. Macmillan UK (IPG/Trafalgar Sq., dist.), $12.95 paper (356p) ISBN 978-1-4050-5359-4

Secombe (Endgame) shows a flair for humor and quirky characters who provide more entertainment than the actual plot of this late 21st-century hard-boiled tale. Meet Jack Lindsay, one-time British war hero now stuck in a seedy office. His sidekick is the oddly misshapen Mango Pinkerton. Jack is counting the days until he can collect his pension, but first a beautiful woman employs him to find her missing husband and then Jack's brother, Freddy, now the police commissioner, appears to ask Jack to help find an assassin killing politicians worldwide. Once Jack suspects the two cases are linked, a wild chase ensues via intercontinental airships. The brothers' rivalry is intense and entertaining, and the threadbare story has just enough loose ends to raise the notion of sequels. (Mar.)

Mirror Kingdoms: The Best of Peter S. Beagle Edited by Jonathan Strahan. Subterranean (www.subterraneanpress.com), $40 (456p) ISBN 978-1-59606-291-7

Scientists may call the rhinoceros a unicorn, but only Beagle can make it feel like one. Facing reality—often a magical reality hidden under mundane trappings—is the key to understanding magical transformations and repairing damage, saving one time-traveling brother trapped in Thursday (“El Regalo”) and thwarting another who is the angel of death (“We Never Talk about My Brother”). Prosaic rabbis must deal with angels (“Uncle Chaim and Aunt Rifke and the Angel”) and ghosts (“The Rabbi's Hobby”) while supernatural daughters cope with mother issues (“Lila the Werewolf,” “What Tune the Enchantress Plays”). “Two Hearts,” the coda to The Last Unicorn, is a moving ode to heroism. Beagle plays on the heartstrings like a master musician, and this definitive collection, a magnificent grand tour of his many created worlds, will thrill his legions of fans. (Mar.)

Mass Market

To Sin with a Scoundrel Cara Elliott. Forever, $6.99 (384p) ISBN 978-0-446-54129-9

Lady Ciara Sheffield joins the crowd of Regency bluestockings in this serviceable and nicely steamy debut romance. Ciara's knowledge of herbs and the unfortunate death of her extremely unpleasant husband has led to society labeling her “Lady Murder,” a slander encouraged by her husband's grieving family, who want custody of Ciara's son. In order to redeem her position in society, Ciara forms a sham alliance with a notorious but politically powerful rake, the earl of Hadley. While Ciara is a somewhat two-dimensional character, the romance with Hadley, which involves smugglers, kidnappers, and—even worse—gossip of the ton, is well drawn and intriguing. Glimpses of Ciara's circle of scholarly female friends promise that further Circle of Sin titles will share this one's intellectual bent. (Mar.)

Rainbow Bridge Gwyneth Jones. Gollancz (IPG, dist.), $9.95 (384p) ISBN 978-0-575-07976-2

The final book in Jones's Bold as Love series (after 2005's Band of Gypsies) wraps up the story of the Rock and Roll Reich, a group whose story has gotten too convoluted for new readers. Much of the novel focuses on the state of postwar England, with the elements of Arthurian myth, rock 'n' roll, and political commentary that Jones has spread throughout this series. There's much to like—not least the subversion of the traditional “resistance fighting the invaders” trope—and fans of the previous books will find it rewarding, but even they will likely find the middle sections overlong. (Mar.)

Warrior Ascended Addison Fox. Signet Eclipse, $7.99 (384p) ISBN 978-0-451-22938-0

Fox debuts with a strong start to the Warriors of the Zodiac series, featuring immortal warriors created by the goddess of justice to balance the destruction sought by Enyo, a goddess of war. Enyo plans to steal the five Egyptian Summoning Stones and take over the world. Eons-old Brody Talbot, the Leo Warrior, is determined to stop her. Ava Harrison, whose late father discovered the stones, is set to curate a show of them at her museum. Only when Brody becomes her protector does she realize she's able to harness the stones' energy. As romance blossoms, Ava, whose life was pretty dismal until Brody came along, suddenly zings to life and readily joins the fight. Powerful romance balances occasionally clumsy world-building and will please fans of dark romantic fantasy. (Mar.)

No Chance Christy Reece. Ballantine, $7.99 (416p) ISBN 978-0-345-51778-4

Reece (Run to Me) kicks off a romantic suspense trilogy with a wrenching romance between Skylar James and Gabe Maddox. Skye hides her wealth and modeling career so Gabe won't be scared off, but Skye's father is displeased by their marriage and reveals Skye's secrets to drive the two apart. Eight years later, Skye is kidnapped. Her father hires Gabe's undercover ops firm to find Skye, and Gabe is assigned the case. Shattering traditional gender roles, Skye repeatedly demonstrates her self-defense skills and quick thinking, while Gabe struggles to work through his pain, anger, and long-buried love. Sizzling romance and fraught suspense fill the pages as the novel races toward its intensely riveting conclusion. (Mar.)

Comics

Area 10 Christos N. Gage and Chris Samnee. DC/Vertigo Crime, $19.99 (184p) ISBN 978-1-40121-067-0

In a page-turning mix of science fiction and noir thriller, New York City detective Adam Kamen is on the trail of the serial killer Henry the Eighth, so named for his penchant for decapitating his victims. Kamen is a familiar character—hard-boiled, independent, a guy with a tough exterior but emotions that run deep. A head injury in the midst of the investigation gives Kamen unusual powers and leads to an exploration of trepanation—deliberately drilling a hole in the skull—as well as introducing him to a beautiful psychiatrist who develops an interest in his case. Gage not only has written for such comics as Iron Man and Spider Man, but also has penned episodes of Law and Order. At times the plot reads like a tightly written episode of that show; he even throws in a reference to Hudson University, where so many students have met their end in the long-running television series. The supernatural element sets the plot apart, however, making it difficult to predict the next plot twist and keeping the story from veering into cliché. Samnee's sharp black and white illustrations create an ominous atmosphere and give readers a palpable sense of Kamen's growing panic as chaos descends. (Apr.)

Super F*ckers James Kochalka. Top Shelf, $14.95 paper (80p) ISBN 978-1-60309-052-0

A superhero team book like no other, Kochalka's gleefully disjointed romp explores what a group of young, confused people with superpowers would probably actually do, which is to say what the ones without superpowers tend to do: spend all their time playing cruel social-hierarchy games, indulging in awkward sexual experimentation, one-upping each other's potty-mouths, and figuring out creative ways to get high. Naturally, Kochalka draws it in his standard ultra-cute, clear-line style. Even his lines are mostly in a palette of simple, flat colors, giving the artwork a sense of candy-cane playfulness. The bulk of this collection was originally published as issues 271, 273, 277, and 279 of an “ongoing series” (no other issues exist, of course, but it's a hilarious excuse for Kochalka to dispense with pesky necessities like exposition and resolving cliffhangers); they're accompanied here by a solo story about the sycophantically adored and wildly irritable hero Jack Krack. There's a disarming sweetness about the whole thing, despite the satirical over-the-top vulgarity and the patina of angst and nastiness; even the occasional explosions of violence are adorable and briskly healed up. (Apr.)

Criminal Macabre: Cellblock 666 Steve Niles, Nick Stakal and Michelle Madsen. Dark Horse, $12.95 (104p) ISBN 978-1-59582-408-0

The latest in the Cal MacDonald series finds the drug-addicted paranormal investigator homeless and hiding from the police, who want to stick him with a false murder rap. Then things get really unpleasant. Cal has always protected ghouls (while fighting zombies, werewolves, and vampires), but a renegade ghoul turns him in to the law so that he's sent to a corrupt hellhole of a prison, badly beaten, and thrown into solitary confinement. Fortunately, Cal's undead buddy Mo'lock brings him pills and helps him get the information he needs to reanimate the corpses of murdered prisoners that the prison warden has been burying nearby. Creator Niles was responsible for 30 Days of Night and certainly knows how to do graphic horror. Stakal's art is appropriately choppy, but that roughness combines with Madsen's dark-toned coloring to make it difficult to recognize which body part is being shredded or whether a character is alive or dead. Nevertheless, the result will entertain nonsqueamish readers. (Jan.)

Sassy Supernatural Sleuths

Two mystery series feature unusual paranormal protagonists.

Werewolf Smackdown Mario Acevedo. Eos, $14.99 paper (406p) ISBN 978-0-06-156718-6

The fifth adventure of vampire PI Felix Gomez (following 2009's Jailbait Zombie) finds him caught between alpha werewolves battling for supremacy in sunny Charleston, S.C. When high-powered werewolf attorney Eric Bourbon tries to hire Gomez to kill his rival, Randolph Calhoun, Gomez refuses. The last thing he wants is to be the guy responsible for breaking the “uneasy truce” that exists among supernatural entities. But as soon as Gomez dodges that metaphorical bullet, someone tries to put a real one through him. Finding the answers will bring Gomez up against an estranged old lover and an old enemy, and just might get him killed. Characters include the usual roster of hoodlums and femmes fatales, who engage in a plethora of double-crosses and violent action scenes. Plenty of cliffhangers keep the story moving in this horror fan's perfect vacation read. (Mar.)

Battle of the Network Zombies Mark Henry. Kensington, $15 paper (320p) ISBN 978-0-7582-2526-9

Clever, fast-paced, and so delightfully trashy that it should have been printed on Hefty bags, Henry's third Amanda Feral novel (after 2009's Road Trip of the Living Dead) smartly skewers popular culture. Brilliant, bitchy undead diva Amanda is desperate for a fledgling reality show to succeed, because being paid to judge it is the only thing that can keep her financially afloat. When someone murders the show's host, a would-be playboy wood nymph, the show's contestants—a snooty Belgian ghoul, a werewolf drag queen, a pair of sirens, a down-home backwoods stripper, and a tentacled manicurist—are all suspects. Amanda's got to solve the case while attempting to rebuild a relationship with her werewolf boyfriend. Henry gleefully delivers a sharp-edged, snarky whodunit with some smart and funny twists. (Mar.)

Related Topics and Links:

• PW issue Contents
• More in Legacy -> Fiction Book Reviews
• More in Legacy -> Indie News
• More in Legacy -> All Book Reviews
• More in Legacy -> Fiction Book Reviews
• More in articles by Publishers Weekly Staff

Also on PW

PW Picks: May 7, 2012 more...

PW's Best Books of 2011

Get ready for BEA with PW!