Fiction

Atlanta TV cooking star Gina Foxton notices budgetary cuts around the meager set of her local PBS show in the form of substituted ingredients, but the final straw is the replacement of mackerel for salmon in her fish dish. Worse, the budget cuts are caused by her boyfriend's affair with the wife of the sponsor, who withdraws from the show. Things look brighter when Gina gets considered for a spot on the national cooking channel. Unfortunately, Tate "Kill It and Grill It" Moody, the popular star of the cooking show Vittles, is also in the running. Humor abounds as the two rivals lock horns in their quest for the brass ring. Colorful secondary characters add to the hilarity. Readers with a taste for delectable culinary romances like Millie Criswell's The Trouble with Mary, Susan Mallery's Delicious, and Deirdre Martin's Just a Taste will enjoy Andrews's (Hissy Fit) latest big helping of fun. For popular fiction collections of all sizes. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 11/15/07.]—Shelley Mosley, Glendale Community Coll. Lib. Media Ctr., AZ

Who is the Somnambulist? The character (like the novel) is festooned with layer upon layer of oddities. Not only is he a mute giant who is invulnerable to weapons and addicted to milk, but he also sleeps in a bunk bed, is completely bald, and glues a wig to his head every day. His partner, the magician and private detective Edward Moon, sleeps in the other bunk bed, dallies with bearded ladies of the evening, and has a mysterious past. In fact, nearly everyone in the turn-of-the-century Victorian London depicted here has a mysterious past, except for Mr. Cribb, who has a mysterious future because his life runs backward in time. Despite this, Barnes's literary debut doesn't come across as jokey or as an obvious parody—it takes itself seriously enough to be a compelling and entertaining read on its own merits. A reader of Edgar Allan Poe, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Wilkie Collins is likely to find plenty to wink at, but the story works on many levels. Highly recommended for public libraries.—Jenne Bergstrom, San Diego Cty. Lib.

Well-known YA author Block's latest novel for adults (after Necklace of Kisses) is a solemn, sensual journey through the female interior landscape. Katrina copes uneasily with precognitive dreams that disturb her and an emotionally abusive boyfriend who confuses her. Angeli (possibly the author of the Katrina passages) juggles a writing career and relationships while sorting out her emotional and spiritual needs. Between these two women lies Quakeland, Los Angeles personified, who describes her natural and human-made features with pride and pain. Readers who enjoy metafiction or other experimental works will appreciate the liberties Block takes with narrative voice and marvel at her interpolation of dreams, reality, fact, and fiction. Those more concerned with language and style will savor the short yet lush passages, which must be reread several times to grasp their full impact. The characters function primarily as archetypes, as their names—e.g., Katrina, Grace, Kali—reveal. However, the novel's true heroine is Earth, depicted here as a broken but beautiful woman who speaks most eloquently when she is silenced. Recommended for large fiction collections.—Leigh Anne Vrabel, Carnegie Lib. of Pittsburgh

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) agent Alex Duarte, first introduced in Field of Fire, is taking his lumps both personally and professionally when he handles a routine assignment to bring down a drug dealer. The capture of this minor player creates a domino effect that sends Duarte and his partner to New Orleans to chase the distributor of the drugs and illegal firearms. Their target turns out to be a bigger fish than they realize, though, and they are led to a vast conspiracy that threatens millions of lives. Born is a former U.S. drug agent, and his experiences lend a realism to the narrative that puts it a notch above the rest of the crime thriller pack. Toss in some surprising twists and a strong protagonist, and you have a thriller writer on the verge of breaking out to the big time. Fans of Michael Connelly might want to check this out. For all fiction collections.—Jeff Ayers, Seattle P.L.

Cleage's (Baby Brother's Blues) new novel gives us yet another glimpse into Atlanta's West End community and introduces new characters and new scandals. Josephine Evans, an African American actress with a successful theater career in Amsterdam, finds her livelihood threatened when the Iraq War makes her the target of an anti-American protest. Josephine decides to travel back to Atlanta to nurture her granddaughter, Zora, who is drinking heavily since being hounded by the press for her involvement in a murder scandal. But Zora isn't Josephine's only rescue mission: the house Josephine inherited from her mother is in ruins. Cleage tackles several subjects—patriotism, legacy, crime, and urban renewal—with such style that this hodgepodge story line actually comes together smoothly. Recommended for all public libraries and African American fiction collections.—Carol Johnson, Cleveland P.L.

Three chapters into this work, young protagonist Djata is at practice for his junior soccer team, for which he is backup goalie, when an army colonel shows up and calls for a private meeting. Owing to the recent Chernobyl disaster, Djata recounts, "he advised us goalies not to dive and to avoid contact with the ball because (it) picks up radioactivity from the grass." Dragomán is sure-handed throughout his U.S. debut, in which he contrasts the vitality of the typical misadventures of an 11-year-old boy with the strong undercurrents of fear and cruelty brought about by life under a dictatorship. Set in an unnamed European country partially based on 1980s Romania, where Dragomán grew up (he now lives in Budapest), this is ostensibly a novel. Nevertheless, the episodic chapters read well on their own, and "Jump" actually appeared as a short story in the Paris Review. While Dragomán stumbles at times in his handling of dialog and the long, out-of-control sentences—an attempt to replicate the breathless flow of preadolescent activity—the novel holds up on the strength of its characters and wealth of memorable scenes. Belonging on the same bookshelf as David Mitchell's Black Swan Green and Zsuzsa Bánk's The Swimmer, this work is recommended for large fiction collections. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 12/07.]—Forest Turner, Suffolk Cty. House of Correction Lib., Boston

Journalist Epstein's first novel showcases two turbulent decades in Chinese history (1913–37) as experienced by prostitute-turned-painter Pan Yuliang. This fictionalized account of real-life artist Madame Pan reveals the woman who created some of China's most provocative post-impressionist paintings. Sold into slavery by her opium-addicted uncle, Yuliang survives life in a brothel, rises from maid to top girl, and eventually achieves quasirespectability by becoming a concubine (second wife) to an honorable civil servant, Pan Zanhua. He teaches her to read and write and helps her gain admission to the Shanghai Arts Academy. Throughout her career, Yuliang is criticized for painting nude self-portraits that reflect a Western sensibility. Her modern artistic and political convictions take a toll on her husband's career, and he allows her to follow her own destiny and supports her when she leaves China to study first in Paris and later in Rome. When Yuliang returns to China, she finds her country torn by political factions. Fans of Arthur Golden's Memoirs of a Geisha and Lisa See's Snow Flower and the Secret Fan will enjoy this engrossing story of a woman forced to choose between following her heart and pursuing her art. Recommended for public libraries.—Loralyn Whitney, Edinboro Univ. of Pennsylvania Lib.

In her third novel depicting women of the Old Testament (after The Song of Hannah and The Garden of Ruth), Etzioni-Halevy, professor emeritus at Bar-Han University in Israel, turns to Deborah for inspiration, portraying her as the wise Jewish prophetess that she was in history. In ancient Israel, Deborah convinces the warrior Barak to proclaim war against the Canaanites. Against all odds, he succeeds in overpowering the much larger army, and Deborah is hailed as a true visionary. At the same time, a romantic triangle develops between Barak and his two female captives, one the recognized daughter of the King of the Canaanites and the other, the illegitimate daughter. Etzioni-Halevy breathes fresh life into a time period when women ruled both by spiritual force and by feminine wiles. Deborah, recently cast off by her husband, must struggle to not only provide for herself but also to carry the mantle of legal mediator for the tribes of Israel. This novel will be devoured by lovers of historical fiction and romance alike.—Marika Zemke, Commerce Twp. Community Lib., MI

In her tenth Alexandra Cooper thriller (after Bad Blood), Fairstein delivers a scorcher of a crime novel—her hottest yet. The assistant DA alternates between the courtroom and crime scenes amid the sweltering summer heat of Manhattan. As she works to convict a serial rapist accused of over 50 rapes in a 35-year-old cold case, verbal and physical threats from vengeance-seeking drug-gang members heat up the courtroom. Alex is called to a crime scene in an abandoned government building, and soon two other young women vanish. Similarities in the cases suggest the possibility of a serial killer, and Alex and colleagues Mike Chapman and Mercer Wallace brave rising temperatures and isolated locations in hot pursuit of the killer. Partly based on a 2006 crime, the novel delivers taut suspense, action-packed chases, historical glimpses of Manhattan, and a smattering of romance. Readers will not want to put down this red-hot thriller until they've turned the final page. It's essential for all public libraries.—Mary Todd Chesnut, Northern Kentucky Univ. Lib., Highland Heights

Centered on the life of Arnau, born to a peasant farmer in Catalonia, this weighty novel spans 55 years of medieval history. Orphaned at the age of 14 and responsible for his young adopted brother, Arnau becomes a bastaix and carries enormous blocks of stone on his back from a quarry to be used in the construction of a new Barcelona cathedral, Santa Maria de la Mar. But Arnau is not destined to be a mere laborer. The 14th century is a time of great social upheaval, and class and economic boundaries are stretched to the breaking point, allowing even the child of a peasant to gain influence, wealth, and status. Though there are momentary glimpses of exceptionally fine writing, most of this novel is tediously dry, concentrating more on history and less on character and plot. How is it possible that one of the most fascinating periods of Spanish history—a century that saw recurring plagues, wars, social and economic revolution, the rise of a powerful merchant class, and the Great Inquisition with its persecution of Jews and heretics—could be rendered in such a pedantic fashion? For a far more spirited work on a similar theme, stick with Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 1/08; Falcones's debut novel was a Spanish best seller, and rights have been sold in 32 countries.—Ed.]—Jane Henriksen Baird, Anchorage Municipal Libs., AK

Sixteen-year-old Nouf ash-Shrawi, daughter of a wealthy Saudi Arabian family, mysteriously disappears and is eventually found drowned in the desert. Was she kidnapped, or did she run away—and if the latter, why? Nouf's brother, Othman, asks his friend Nayir Sharqi, a local desert guide, to find out what happened to his sister. Nayir's investigation leads him into unknown territory—notably, the secret realm of women in a segregated Middle Eastern society. In an unusual partnership that challenges his traditional ideas, Nayir works on the case with Othman's fiancée, a laboratory technician in the medical examiner's office. Ferraris's debut novel gives a fascinating peek into the lives and minds of devout Muslim men and women while serving up an engrossing mystery. Ferraris, an American, lived in Saudi Arabia in the early 1990s with her then-husband and his extended family, Saudi-Palestinian Bedouins. Highly recommended.—Sarah Conrad Weisman, Corning Community Coll. Lib., NY

Strange things are happening in a small Long Island community—a child disappears, a large, white car no one recognizes is seen creeping around, there's a smell of pipe smoke at odd times, and a Peeping Tom is scaring women at night. When the narrator, an introspective sixth-grade boy who likes detective stories, and his older brother decide to track the culprit, they set up a model of their town in the basement only to discover that their younger sister is predicting future events by moving the figures around. Edgar Award—winning author Ford (Girl in the Glass) perfectly captures life in small-town America in 1960, when the harsh realities of urban life—murder, child abduction, alcoholism, latchkey children—began affecting families like the narrator's. Spooky and hypnotic, this thoroughly enjoyable page-turner may remind some readers of Robert McCammon's Boy's Life, which evokes a similar nostalgic feel of the time period along with a corresponding mystery element to resolve. Recommended for all public libraries.—Kellie Gillespie, City of Mesa Lib., AZ

Juan Castro Pérez, a mule driver in the Spanish civil war, finds and cares for a stray mule he hopes to bring home with him at the war's end. His affection for and tender devotion to the creature, whom he calls Valentina, offsets the senseless brutality of the war and deepens to the point where Juan cares more for the mule's well-being than of the war's outcome. (Nobel Prize—winning poet Juan Jiménez depicted a similar relationship—between man and donkey—in his endearing 1956 tale, Platero and I.) The sardonic culmination of this often bitterly humorous and satiric tale reprises the theme of the accidental hero when Juan is recognized for a deed for which he was not responsible and receives a prestigious medal from a short, high-pitched caricature of Gen. Francisco Franco himself. Despite such humorous touches, the novel's overall theme is loss—Republican Spain loses the war, and, in the end, Juan loses not just his beloved mule but also his girlfriend and his boyhood chum. This is the first of prolific author Galán's novels to be translated into English; a film adaptation is currently in production in Spain. Appropriate for most public and academic libraries.—Lawrence Olszewski, OCLC Lib., Dublin, OH

In his first novel, Russian-born Gessen (founder, n+1) continues many of the same themes of his excellent short story "Like Vaclav," often with hilarious results. The book focuses on Sam, Mark, and Keith, young "literary men" with ambitious plans to change the world. Unfortunately, these plans are often derailed by their difficulties in dealing with young adulthood. Mark is not so diligently working on a dissertation about the Mensheviks in dreary Syracuse, NY, while reeling from a recent divorce. Sam plans to write a great Zionist novel despite never having been to Israel. And Keith, the son of Russian immigrants and the most thoughtful of the three, struggles with family issues and alienation. Though the three never meet, their lives intertwine as they arrive at their own forms of adulthood. The themes of "Like Vaclav" aren't quite as sustainable in novel form, but Gessen still manages to tackle serious political subjects while poking fun at how seriously his characters take themselves. Strongly recommended for most general fiction collections. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 12/07.]—Kevin Greczek, Hamilton, NJ

In a flooded, postapocalyptic Britain, most of the country is wet and uninhabitable; what remains above ground is in the tight control of a repressive, misogynist regime called "The Authority." Citizens are assigned work in newly essential industries and are provided with tightly shared living quarters; women are force-fitted with contraceptive devices except for the fortunate few who win the breeding lottery. From these hellish conditions, a young woman leaves behind her husband and home to seek out a fabled, utopian community of women in the north. The brutal reception she receives upon her arrival there is offset by the warm communality that follows her acceptance into the group. However, all is not well, as the women must face predatory outside forces, and the novel races toward a riveting conclusion. After Hurricane Katrina and the Indian Ocean tsunami, this foreboding tale by Hall (The Electric Michelangelo) seems eerily imaginable. Sure to be of interest to readers of Cormac McCarthy's The Road and others who like their apocalyptic fiction raw.—Barbara Love, Kingston Frontenac P.L., Ont.

Winner of Israel's prestigious Sapir Prize, this is Hareven's first book to be translated into English. It centers on Noa Weber, a successful, middle-aged Israeli writer and feminist. Noa spills her life onto the page with reckless abandon, writing her confessions to her 29-year-old daughter in the hopes of understanding her obsessive love for one man: Alek, an older Russian émigré she met at a party in 1972 Jerusalem when she was just 17. The bohemian lifestyle, philosophic arguments, and drinking and smoking of Alek's world were all new to Noa then, but more than that, she found Alek fascinating. Young and naive, she moved in with him and shortly became pregnant. Years later, even though Noa and Alek are still legally married, Noa refers to herself as a sex slave and sex addict. Alek, now a foreign correspondent, is a continuous but elusive presence in her life—Noa meets him in Russia or Paris whenever he beckons. Israel's leaders, wars, and its sociopolitical developments form the backdrop of this masterly written and translated story. Highly recommended.—Molly Abramowitz, Silver Spring, MD

Seventeen-year-old Sebastian Mundt is homeschooled by his father in New York City. He hadn't seen his mother, now dead, since he was seven. When his father goes to sleep, Sebastian rides the subways, just to get out of the house. On one of his nocturnal subterranean journeys, he encounters 22-year-old Maria Arquette, who takes her own late-night rides to escape her abusive boyfriend, Carl, the father of her two children. A fan of the movie West Side Story (she was named for the lead character), Maria wishes her life could be as romantic. She calls Sebastian Tony, the movie's hero, and imagines a scenario where they run away together. Sebastian wants to get away from his domineering father, perhaps to the windmills he recalls from his brief stay as a child with his grandmother in the California desert. It does sound romantic, but how will Sebastian react to Maria's children? And how will she prevent Carl from finding her? Hyde (Love in the Present Tense) presents two damaged people who are too young to have withstood all they have yet strong enough to take that first step to something, "somewhere" better. Readers will dream right along with them while realizing that real life (even as portrayed in novels) isn't like the movies. Recommended for public library collections. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 11/1/07.]—Bette-Lee Fox, Library Journal

Novelist and psychoanalyst Kakar (Ecstasy) successfully employs letters, diaries, and autobiographical accounts to craft this semifictional account of Mohandas Gandhi's platonic relationship with Madeline Slade, a young British woman who leaves her privileged life as an admiral's daughter and becomes one of Gandhi's foremost disciples. In 1925, against the backdrop of India's struggle for independence, Madeline—or Mira, as Gandhi later renames her—joins the spiritual leader's ashram in Gujarat. Mira's Hindi teacher, Navin Prasad, narrates the "factional" story of love and friendship that develops between Gandhi and his disciple. Navin's account of Mira's emotional and spiritual motivations for surrendering to Gandhi are the novel's strongest elements. Where Navin's narrative—and hence, the novel—falls short, however, is in portraying Gandhi's side of the story. Did Kakar's imaginative resolve just fail, or was he being respectful of the Mahatma's image? Either way, Gandhi's intentions toward Mira are never clear, and Kakar's insertion of a tangential story about Mira's infatuation with Indian revolutionary Prithvi Swingh further detracts from this account of an obviously complex relationship. Recommended only for large fiction collections.—Faye A. Chadwell, Oregon State Univ. Lib., Corvallis

We've seen, heard, and read it all before—the relentless lawman on a long, hard trail to bring a killer to justice. Bank robber Luther Cordell gets busted out of jail, and likable Sherriff Tom Blessing, good friend of ex-Texas Ranger Andy Pickard, takes a bullet in the gut. Blaming himself for Blessing's death, Andy, whose claim to fame is that he spent his boyhood years with the Comanche Indians, gets his old ranger authority back and chases Cordell across most of Texas before the final showdown. Along the way, we get to see what a nice guy Cordell really is—brave and honorable—and how much he regrets his life of crime. The outlaw trail is a hard trail to follow (double meaning intended all the way). This is the latest novel of a series that began well with Badger Boy in 2001. Kelton is the preeminent author of Westerns in America today, and this is a slick and easy read, but there isn't an original idea or character in the book. Recommended for Kelton's fans.—Ken St. Andre, Phoenix P.L.

Khoury (Middle Eastern & Islamic studies), author of the critically acclaimed Gate of the Sun, among other works, here constructs a dark tale centering on the interrogation and torture of the titular Yalo. A product of Lebanon's brutal civil war, Yalo is accused of robbery and rape and is suspected of having been involved in even more nefarious activities. Imprisoned and forced to confess to crimes he has no memory of committing, Yalo attempts to re-create his past, and the absorbing story of his mother and her own past emerges. While readers will generally sympathize with Yalo's confusion and pain, they may find it hard to have feelings for the accused rapist. Still, Khoury's glimpse of a country torn apart by war and politics is an essential read for those interested in Lebanese culture and community. Recommended for literary collections.—Alicia Korenman, Florida State Univ. Lib., Tallahassee

In the same tradition of Kinsella's other stand-alone works, Can You Keep a Secret? and The Undomestic Goddess, this light novel will entice readers with 28-year-old Lexi Smart as an empathetic character who wakes up in the hospital with amnesia. She is informed that she arrived at the hospital five days ago, but she can't seem to remember the last three years of her life or, more important, who she has become within these past years. The once affectionately called Snaggletooth is now a glamorous and toned woman with perfect teeth. In what is both awkward and humorous, Lexi meets her gorgeous husband, sees their impressively hi-tech loft, and learns of all her successes as a corporate bigwig who wears a tight chignon and a neutral-colored wardrobe. As Lexi adjusts to this life, she can't shake the feeling that something is missing and that this life is just not as perfect as it seems. Though the scenario is rather far-fetched and there is mild language use, the situations that arise are truly entertaining and humorous. Recommended for all popular fiction collections.—Anne Miskewitch, Chicago P.L.

Marcom's third novel, after the award-winning Three Apples Fell from Heaven and The Daydreaming Boy, proves James Baldwin right: you cannot deny the humanity of another without diminishing yourself. The stream-of-consciousness narrative chronicles the internal ramblings of an unnamed male narrator, living in Los Angeles, who is relentlessly tormented by memories of a young, beautiful Guatemalan Indian tortured and killed during the country's civil war. Marcom's research is apparent, and the book includes numerous statements from Guatemalan militarists and massacre survivors. In addition, fragments passed down from the narrator's Armenian mother—images that demonstrate Turkey's early 20th-century brutality against this ethnic minority—are woven in. The work is obsessive, with violent incidents repeated again and again. What's more, it's hard to tell the real from the imagined. Was the narrator ever in Guatemala? Did he participate in the woman's abuse, or is he a stand-in for all soldiers who blindly obey orders? While the text clearly illustrates the narrator's agony, the actual story is both hard to follow and inexorably grim. Nonetheless, the poetic language and vivid images are affecting. Recommended for large literary collections. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 11/1/07.]—Eleanor J. Bader, Brooklyn, NY

Sam Brady has led a quiet, isolated life for most of his 65 years. A closeted gay man in a small Illinois town in the 1950s, he has only his basset hound, Stump, as companion. Sam's solitary life is disrupted first when a recently widowed neighbor forces friendship on him and then when Sam's brother, with whom he shares a long-buried secret and from whom he's long been estranged, returns to town. Some implausibility in the plot contrivances cause many characters and situations to converge simultaneously; certain conspiracy theories involving terrorist plots belong in another novel. Martin's (The Bright Forever) troubled male characters, struggling with defining their masculinity and sexuality in a community and era allowing for little divergence, ring truer than do his female characters. But Sam's coming to terms with himself and the value of human connection is affecting. For regional and larger public library collections. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 12/07.]—Christine DeZelar-Tiedman, Univ. of Minnesota Libs., Minneapolis

The drama never heats up in this tepid seventh novel by Essence best-selling author Miller (Satin Nights), whose fans might not appreciate her leaving the streets of Harlem for Madison Avenue. Blond, light-skinned, African American Shanika Jenkins—after being passed over for not looking black enough for a position at a prestigious PR firm—becomes Nicole Jensen to land a job not designated as affirmative action. As she slips into "passing" for white, Nikkie tells herself it's temporary. But despite her discomfort at letting racist remarks slide and estrangement from her Detroit family, she enjoys her favored spot in the firm and admission to the hot clubs. As time goes on, Nikkie squirms more often, but it gets harder to reveal her deception. With no sex scenes or real romance to engage readers, though, even the author's trademark sassy dialog can't lighten the story enough for it not to sink under its weighty moral—be true to yourself. Purchase for large African American fiction collections.—Laurie A. Cavanaugh, Brockton P.L., MA

Aristotle is referred to so often in this brilliant comedy of manners as to seem to be alive. Also present are Plato, Lawrence Kohlberg, Kant, Sartre, Heidegger, Gadamer, Rawls, Piaget, Captain Kangaroo, and Mister Rogers. How can a novel so loaded with ideas be so funny and consistently engrossing? Missing in this hilarious send-off on Pygmalion are Rousseau and Locke, although it could be argued that the book is an extended riff on their ideas about how we acquire our moral sense. The premise is not new: a philosopher-tutor is given the opportunity to impress ethical ideas on a first-class mind that is, in matters of morality, a blank slate. But Morrow (The Last Witchfinder) is an inventive writer possessing a fine comic sensibility; the story is infused with wit and brio. And that brings one more name into the mix—Diderot. Morrow may not mention Diderot, but in many ways Morrow is a successor to that finest of Enlightenment thinkers, a man who believed that literature and philosophy marched hand in hand and who was not afraid to discuss serious matters in a comic tone. Enthusiastically recommended for all libraries.—David Keymer, Modesto, CA

For decades, Grace Reeves has kept secret the truth of a poet's violent death by the lake at Riverton House in Oxfordshire. Now at the end of her life, 98-year-old Grace's memory is swept back, after interviews for a film about the tragic incident, to those years of her service for the Hartford family. At 15, Grace begins her adult life as a housemaid in the grand Riverton House, quickly learning her place in the servant hierarchy. Her loyalty and attachment to Hannah and Emmeline Hartford grow over the years, as the Hartford family is affected by war, death, financial failings, and illicit love. Debut Australian author Morton pens a suspenseful and beautifully atmospheric novel capturing the transitional time from the end of the Edwardian era through World War I into the Roaring Twenties. Intriguing characters, both past and present, are skillfully drawn to create an enjoyable tale. Recommended for popular fiction collections.—Joy St. John, Henderson Dist. P.L., NV

Mosse's latest novel about love and obsession smoothly alternates between historical viewpoints. First off is 1891 Paris, where young Léonie Vernier idolizes her older brother Anatole. Unbeknownst to her, Anatole hides many secrets, including his connection to the dangerously insane Victor Constant. Perhaps a sojourn to their widowed aunt's estate in the Pyrenees of southwest France will keep the Verniers safe. Meanwhile, in the present day, Meredith Martin visits France ostensibly to work on her biography of Debussy; her true agenda is to investigate her own ancestors. She quickly gets caught up in a mystery concerning the death of a local hotel owner. Toss in a mystical set of tarot cards, a haunted mausoleum, an old photograph, and the return of a key character from Mosse's best-selling Labyrinth, and you have a charming, if slow-paced, tale. Mosse's careful descriptions of the French countryside, local cuisine, and her smatterings of French and Occitan phrases make this novel both an engaging travelog and a romantic mystery. Recommended for public libraries. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 12/07.]—Laurel Bliss, San Diego State Univ. Lib.

Ireland is no country for old men—or so it seems in this novel of bleak landscapes and middle-aged characters hiding from the past and struggling with the present. Park (The Big Snow) imagines a commission set up to investigate cases of missing and dead people from the years of violence in Northern Ireland. Head of the commission Henry Stanfield, retired police officer James Fenton, and former IRA leader Francis Gilroy share some common experiences involving their respective children, now young adults, and the feeling of time passing them by. The novel begins with separate chapters introducing these characters, and its last half gains in force and excitement with the commission's investigation of the case of a missing 15-year-old boy. The shadow figures of the government and the old IRA network continue to pull strings behind the scenes until the characters' lives and past histories finally intersect, and the truth—in one form or another—emerges. In this forceful, lyrical, and elegantly written novel, Park skillfully probes both the personal and the political, the psychological and the historical, as the characters try to come to terms with a hidden past. Recommended for larger fiction collections.—Jim Coan, SUNY at Oneonta Lib.

In this latest from Booker Prize finalist Parks (Europa), British media personality Harold Cleaver has just skewered the President of the United States in a television interview and, turning his back on society, retreats into the mountains. The narrative is conveyed with ironic humor and precision through Cleaver's inner voice as he thinks about his life and reveals his mental perambulations. His reflections are poignant and believable, and the descriptions of his adventures and the people he meets combine with his ruminations to reveal his life story organically. Moreover, his grief for a daughter he lost in a car accident 15 years earlier provides a ringing counterpoint to his struggle with the anger he feels toward his eldest son, who has just written a critical exposé of his famous father. The slowly revealed details create an honest emotional tableau that is both intriguing and funny. Unique, immediately impactful, and carried through to a reasonable resolution; recommended for all libraries.—Henry Bankhead, Los Gatos P.L., CA

New York newspaper reporter Henry Parker returns in Pinter's exciting follow-up to The Mark. Living with his girlfriend and trying to bury memories of the traumatic events recounted in the first book, Henry gets an assignment that will put him and his girlfriend in jeopardy again. A celebrity is shot outside a nightclub, and a note from the killer quotes a line from one of Parker's articles. More famous people die, and Parker sees a terrifying pattern: the weapon used to commit the murders is over 100 years old, and the killer fancies himself as the famous outlaw Billy the Kid. The further Parker investigates, the more he becomes part of the story, a suspenseful and shocking tale that will leave readers clamoring for the next Henry Parker novel. For all thriller collections.—Jeff Ayers, Seattle P.L.

By all appearances, this debut novel by an award-winning Welsh poet can be readily classified as a work of genre fiction, specifically the alternate history genre. Sheers convincingly reimagines the events of World War II; it is late 1944, and the Germans, fresh from their victory against the Russians on the eastern front, have successfully invaded and occupied England. One morning, a group of women in a remote Welsh valley awake to find their husbands have left them to join the resistance. Soon, a German patrol arrives on a mysterious mission, and the two groups are forced together when a blizzard cuts the valley off from the outside world. Sheers's debut can no more be dismissed as a genre novel than can a novel such as Philip Roth's The Plot Against America. Like Roth, Sheers uses the genre to explore broader themes, particularly focusing on the different ways in which characters on both sides of the conflict alternately resist and accommodate themselves to war and occupation. Sheers has written a suspenseful narrative set against a beautifully evoked landscape. Highly recommended for public and academic libraries. [For another World War II novel set in Wales, see also Peter Ho Davies's The Welsh Girl.—Ed.]—Douglas Southard, CRA International Lib., Boston

In her third novel, New York Times best-selling author Strout (Abide with Me) tracks Olive Kitteridge's adult life through 13 linked stories. Olive—a wife, mother, and retired teacher—lives in the small coastal town of Crosby, ME. A large, hulking woman with a relentlessly unpleasant personality, Olive intimidates generations of community members with her quick, cruel condemnations of those around her—including her gentle, optimistic, and devoted husband, Henry, and her son, Christopher, who, as an adult, flees the suffocating vortex of his mother's displeasure. Strout offers a fair amount of relief from Olive's mean cloud in her treatment of the lives of the other townsfolk. With the deft, piercing shorthand that is her short story—telling trademark, she takes readers below the surface of deceptive small-town ordinariness to expose the human condition in all its suffering and sadness. Even when Olive is kept in the background of some of the tales, her influence is apparent. Readers will have to decide for themselves whether it's worth the ride to the last few pages to witness Olive's slide into something resembling insight. For larger libraries. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 12/07.]—Beth E. Andersen, Ann Arbor Dist. Lib., MI

Mix a pair of homeless children with a drug-addicted mother, a self-absorbed pharmaceutical company executive, a brilliant medical researcher, and a lonely whistleblower, and what do you get? A romantic fable awkwardly packaged within a bioethical treatise. One cold night, Danny and his little sister manage to snag a corner of the heart of Matthew—the executive—and gain shelter in his luxurious Philadelphia loft. Savvy Danny tricks Matthew into sending his mother to an expensive drug rehab clinic, thereby setting up the novel's 30-day framework. Matthew's former lover Amelia, who is now pregnant by his best friend, the scientist Ben, is drawn to the children's plight. Suddenly, the high moral principles upon which she bases her life start to falter a bit as she faces a number of personal choices. Despite Tucker's (Once Upon a Day) storytelling gifts and her ambitious premise, it's hard to warm up to these poorly developed characters. With its numerous references to popular music and culture, this quick read may appeal to Mitch Albom fans and is suitable for YA collections. Recommended for larger popular collections.—Teresa L. Jacobsen, Solano Cty. Lib., Fairfield, CA

Former model, widow, and sometime lawyer Ponce Morris (named for Ponce de León and his fountain of youth) has made it perfectly clear that she isn't interested in sex and romance anymore. So her girlfriends don't mind when she acts as a "spare wife" and attends events and such with their husbands. The wives benefit from Ponce's friendship, too, in the form of girl talk and shopping expositions. But when Babette, a young aspiring writer and editorial assistant, discovers that Ponce is having an affair with one of the husbands, she finds herself with a scoop that could kick her writing career into high gear. Although it's hard to sympathize with the numerous dishonest and philandering characters in Witchel's second novel (after Me Times Three), once you get a grasp of who they are and the intertwined roles they play, this is a deliciously fun read with plenty of entertaining high-society shenanigans. For larger popular fiction collections.—Samantha Gust, Niagara Univ. Lib., NY

Four years after the release of her best-selling novel, The Namesake, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Lahiri returns with her highly anticipated second collection of short stories exploring the inevitable tension brought on by family life. The title story, for example, takes on a young mother nervously hosting her widowed father, who is visiting between trips he takes with a lover he has kept secret from his family. What could have easily been a melodramatic soap opera is instead a meticulously crafted piece that accurately depicts the intricacies of the father-daughter relationship. In a departure from her first book of short stories, Interpreter of Maladies, Lahiri divides this book into two parts, devoting the second half of the book to "Hema and Kaushik," three stories that together tell the story of a young man and woman who meet as children and, by chance, reunite years later halfway around the world. The author's ability to flesh out completely even minor characters in every story, and especially in this trio of stories, is what will keep readers invested in the work until its heartbreaking conclusion. Recommended for all public libraries. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 12/07.]—Sybil Kollappallil, Library Journal

These interlinked stories depict the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby and its traumatic effect on a wide variety of characters, including the kidnappers, the parents, the general public, and a distraught maid. Despite their suffering, the Lindberghs are not particularly sympathetic characters, seemingly cold aristocrats, active participants in the cruel oppression and suffering of the people and animals who serve and amuse them. (For instance, a slow, old fox-hunting hound is "sorely in need of the lash…. 'Probably a rheumatism,' the Duke explained. But 'no excuse, nevertheless.'") Ryder's style varies from being extremely spare to very detailed, and she is particularly skilled at providing a variety of small details to set a scene or mood. Of particular interest are the inclusion of snippets from newspapers (often incorrect or even contradictory) and Ryder's imaginings of the ransom notes. These seemingly disparate elements are actually synergistic. Highly recommended for public and academic libraries.—Jim Dwyer, California State Univ., Chico