The anonymous 1844 publication of Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation, a controversial text that anticipated the work of Darwin, serves as the linchpin for this beautifully wrought, panoramic historical from Kingman (Not Yet Drown’d). Events center on the Edinburgh househol... Continue reading »

Originally published in 1945 and appearing in English for the first time, this locked-room classic from Gensoul and Garnier offers multiple impossible crimes. Four friends—journalist Lucien Darlay, mystery novelist Jules Dublard, clerk Yves de Bellec, and school supervisor Louis Beaurieux—have gathe... Continue reading »

Hugo Award–winner Scalzi knocks it out of the park with the tightly plotted, deeply satisfying conclusion to his Interdependency Sequence space opera trilogy (after The Consuming Fire). The Flow streams, trade routes that connect the planets governed under the Interdependency, face an immin... Continue reading »

Grissom’s deeply-felt debut introduces a remarkable heroine whose body image issues are rendered with expert precision. Full-figured Faith Lacerna developed an adult body in elementary school and the subsequent teasing and harassment have lingered with her into college. Her only sexual encounter in ... Continue reading »

Som’s provocative collection of short comics explores the idiosyncrasies of gender, desire, friendship, courtship, family, and culture through speculative fiction. Each of her eight stories, rendered in fine pen and exquisite watercolor, explores a different facet of life in distinct futures, with a... Continue reading »

The exceptional fifth book from Chang (Barbie Chang) does not open with death, at least not in the way its title might suggest. It opens instead with a father’s stroke and the assertion that grief “is really about future absence.” The collection explores the newspaper obituary through prose... Continue reading »

The lovely ninth installment of Lillard’s Wells Landing series (after Marrying Jonah) set in the Amish community of Wells Landing, Okla., centers on the budding romance between two unlikely heroes. Jenna and Buddy are both seen as “less than” by their community due to their cognitive slowne... Continue reading »

In this eloquent and troubling account, novelist and National Book Award–finalist Lalami (The Other Americans) draws on her personal history as “an immigrant, a woman, an Arab, and a Muslim” to argue that becoming a U.S. citizen does not necessarily mean becoming “an equal member of the Ame... Continue reading »

Born and raised on the Louisiana bayou, restaurateur Martin shares the history, traditions, and customs surrounding Cajun cuisine and offers a tantalizing slew of classic dishes as cooked at her eatery in New Orleans, from which the title of the book is taken. Writing in elegant prose, Martin is les... Continue reading »

Kerby, religious studies scholar at Harvard Divinity School, explores in her excellent debut the historical and political narratives crafted and reinforced by Christian heritage tourism in Washington, D.C. Using field research and interviews, she discovers that tour guides and tourists share a commo... Continue reading »

Twelve-year-old surfing fanatic Alberta has lived in Ewing Beach, Calif., with her fathers for much of her life. Her family is one of the only black families in town, until the Whitmans buy the old bed and breakfast across the street. Goth Edie, the same age as Alberta, is nothing like her. She’s a ... Continue reading »