Charyn’s spectacular latest (after The Perilous Adventures of the Cowboy King) captures the madness of Nazi Germany in a fiercely inventive merging of fiction and fact. Erik Holdermann’s parents both die before his ninth birthday in 1928, after which he is raised in a Berlin orphanage. When... Continue reading »

Set in post-WWII England, Airth’s outstanding sixth John Madden mystery (after 2017’s The Death of Kings) takes retired Scotland Yard chief inspector Angus Sinclair, a series regular, to Hampshire to visit friends. From his host, Sinclair learns that Greta Hartmann, the local church’s Germa... Continue reading »

Stephens closes her grimdark Godblind Trilogy (after Darksoul) in spectacular style, dexterously balancing heroism, savagery, and heartache. The city of Rilpor has fallen to the invading Mireces, led by King Corvus, but the loss of their evil god, the Dark Lady, leaves their victory a hollo... Continue reading »

Rapid-fire repartee and a struggle for self-acceptance underpin this playful, steamy Regency retelling of “Beauty and the Beast” from Howard (What a Scot Wants). Lady Astrid Everleigh is livid when she learns her greedy uncle intends to marry off her younger sister, Isobel, to the Earl of B... Continue reading »

It’s been a long time since a shake-up of a traditional newspaper serial strip attracted as much attention as this clever reboot, drawn by pseudonymous cartoonist Jaimes (whose identity is hotly speculated). Jaimes’s version of the venerable 80-year-old strip reads, on the surface, like a parody of ... Continue reading »

In this formally dexterous debut, Hwang interrogates language, identity, and cultural inheritance. Fittingly, the collection opens with a powerful gesture (a poem in Korean presented without translation) that sets the stage for a collection that proclaims form as not just an extension of narrative, ... Continue reading »

Christy Award–winner Dickerson (The Merchant’s Daughter) reimagines the Pied Piper story in this excellent installment to her Hagenheim series, set in 1424 in the German region of the Holy Roman Empire. Katerina, a fiercely private and emotionally guarded warrior-maiden, is determined to pr... Continue reading »

The first in a planned two-volume collection of the nonfiction of short story author Davis (Samuel Johnson Is Indignant) proves a cornucopia of illuminating and timeless observations on literature, art, and the craft of writing. A master of short, punchy prose works, Davis discloses her inf... Continue reading »

In this mouthwatering array of recipes, the Lui sisters highlight creations from their London bakery and tea house Cutter & Squidge. They offer more than 60 recipes utilizing only natural colors and flavorings with vegan and gluten-free options suitable for all skill levels, derived from both their ... Continue reading »

Religion professor Wellman Jr., sociologist Corcoran, and religion PhD candidate Stockly productively fuse several disciplines to deconstruct the success story of American megachurches in this crucial, wide-ranging work. The authors make clear from the outset that they will not be concentrating on r... Continue reading »

This stirring visual memoir of WWII is a personal departure for Bryan (Freedom Over Me), an artist best known for his vibrantly illustrated folktales and poetry for children. Drafted during 1943, his third year at Cooper Union, Bryan found the U.S. Army segregated in baffling and infuriatin... Continue reading »