Fiction

Barclay, Linwood. Too Close to Home. Bantam. Sept. 2008. c.404p. ISBN 978-0-553-80556-7. $22. F

How well do you really know the people in your life? That is the question addressed in Barclay's second stand-alone thriller after No Time for Goodbye. On a hot summer night, the Langley family is murdered in their home. There seems to be no motive for the crime, and the town where they live is shocked. Jim Cutter, their neighbor, is drawn into the investigation when his son is mistakenly arrested for the crime. Soon he discovers everyone has secrets, as they begin to bubble to the top. Jim has to find redemption, not only for his sins but also for those he loves most. This is a terrific read full of false leads and shady characters, offering an entertaining look into small-town life and the connections among people, both good and bad. Strongly recommended for most public libraries. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 6/1/08.]—Elizabeth Cornelius, Trevor Day Sch., New York

Make room for another gutsy forensic pathologist unwilling to stay put in her lab. Theresa MacLean is horrified when the banker found murdered in his driveway connects, just a few hours later, to a bank hostage situation at the Federal Reserve Bank in downtown Cleveland. Why does her fiancé, detective Paul Cleary, have to be one of the hostages being held by two men who are either incredibly stupid (who robs the Federal Reserve?) or very much clued in to the bank's unique delivery patterns? After a few tense hours observing from the command post across the street, Theresa impulsively defies the hostage negotiator's protocol and swaps places with her wounded fiancé. Now on the inside, she uses her keen observational skills and gains a clearer idea of the robbers' motives. Human behavior, unpredictable as always, forces the hand of the robbers, and the situation escalates messily. Theresa is caught in a harrowing conclusion—car chase and all. Fans of Tess Gerritsen's Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles novels will enjoy this debut thriller by a forensic specialist for its steady suspense, female intuition, and distinctive venue. A terrific vacation read; recommended for all popular collections. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 5/15/08.]—Teresa L. Jacobsen, Solano Cty. Lib., Fairfield, CA

A family story and some colorful legends combine in this classic American novel of crime, passion, revenge, and violence set in rural Franklin County, VA, during the Great Depression. A criminal syndicate of moonshiners, corrupt officials (including the Commonwealth's attorney, Carter Lee, grandnephew of Robert E. Lee), and the hardscrabble local population are the main players. Bondurant's grandfather and two great-uncles were the infamous "Bondurant Boys," who organized the county's moonshine business. They were shot down in December 1930, and their story is followed in the novel by writer Sherwood Anderson, then living in nearby Marion, VA, for a magazine article he's handling. This is a cracklingly good novel, with plenty of action and local color; it has already been picked up for movie treatment. Recommended, particularly for regional collections. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 6/1/08.]—Ann H. Fisher, Radford P.L., VA

Buckley's latest satire (after Boomsday and Thank You for Smoking) takes on the Supreme Court, reality television, and presidential elections. When two of an unpopular president's Supreme Court nominees are rejected for, among other things, writing an unfavorable review of the film version of To Kill a Mockingbird in a grade school newspaper, the president retaliates by nominating a popular network television judge. Things get further complicated when she actually wins the nomination. Buckley is a master at setting up ridiculous situations featuring unsavory characters, and he does not disappoint here, presenting a senator who stars in his own TV series portraying a U.S. president (definitely not West Wing caliber) and a TV producer whose biggest reality success aside from his wife's courtroom show features people jumping to their deaths. Buckley's main character, however, TV judge Pepper Cartwright, never rises above cliché, and all her supporting characters get the best lines. Happily, Buckley features these supporting characters and their snappy dialog heavily. Recommended for public libraries.—Julie Elliott, Indiana Univ. Lib., South Bend

New York City rookie police detective Ellie Hatcher, first introduced in Dead Connection, is out on her morning run when she discovers the corpse of a teenage girl who's been strangled, stabbed, and shorn of her blond hair. The 19-year-old had been visiting the Big Apple with friends and hitting all the clubs while on break from college. Her murder creates a whirlwind of bad publicity for the city, but the NYPD breaks the case very quickly—or have they? Turns out there are weird similarities to some cold cases that Hatcher's deceased partner had been checking out, and she is unconvinced they have the right perp. When another young woman is killed in a similar fashion, even the hunky district attorney has to admit the case has problems. Hatcher, meanwhile, is getting an uneasy feeling that somehow it's personal. Lots of suspense and plot twists galore keep the pages turning, but the story lines about Hatcher, her boyfriend, her brother, and her partner deserve the credit for making this novel a winner. Highly recommended for all public libraries. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 5/15/08.]—Stacy Alesi, Boca Raton, FL

Evelyn and Alexander are from completely different worlds, she from privilege and wealth with an elite social standing, he the son of community activists who struggles with his desire to be a corporate lawyer. Each recently ended a relationship and is returning to San Francisco on the same flight, just missing a face-to-face meeting but unintentionally trading trinkets. Alexander finds a coaster on which Evelyn drew hands knitting, and Evelyn finds a head-bobbing dog Alexander made of straws. The straw dog and coaster are soon beloved objects. Their romance is told by Evelyn and Alexander in alternating first-person narratives, a technique that shows how their lives overlap without their knowledge, makes clear the effect the characters' glimpses have on each other, and demonstrates how alike they are in spirit. The open ending is full of promise for the pair and feels satisfying. Candela's third novel (after Underneath It All and Life Over Easy) is recommended to older teens and all adults.—Stacey Hayman, Rocky River P.L., OH

Canin's new work about class, politics, money, and media in the Nixon era through the present day will resonate powerfully with readers in this presidential election year. Corey Sifter, a working-class boy from a small New York town, is hired by the Metareys, the wealthiest family in Saline, to be a man-of-all-trades. His work ethic endears him to the Metareys, who treat him as one of the family, even paying for his prep school tuition. As both an insider and an outsider, Corey is in a unique position to observe the political maneuverings of Liam Metarey and his campaign to elect Sen. Henry Bonwiller to the presidency. However, Bonwiller's personal failings ruin not only his political career but also the finances and family life of the Metareys. This saga of politics and family is a superb achievement; Canin (The Palace Thief) interleaves past and present to create a classical tragedy from the very first page. This engrossing novel would be a good book club selection and is highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 2/1/08.]—Amy Ford, St. Mary's Cty. Lib., Lexington Park, MD

Debut author Carbin takes a chance with a main character who is largely unlikable for almost half of this novel. Shallow, self-obsessed Rachel enjoys her telesales job, dating, and keeping herself gorgeous. She falls for handsome Nick Maxwell, only to learn the hard way what all those guys she dumped had felt. Their brief fling's end is made especially difficult when Rachel discovers she is pregnant. With nowhere else to turn, she develops a phone friendship with Hector, a stranger whose cell phone she found while shopping. As she accepts the responsibility of a new baby, she becomes a better person—just in time to help her friend Sarah through a time of crisis. Her burgeoning relationship with Hector also showcases Rachel's more charming side. Rachel's frequent coy asides, as she narrates the highlights of her life like a tour guide, hamper the flow of action. Still, this sturdy debut is appropriate for collections where British chick lit is popular and may interest fans of Adele Parks's similarly developed heroines.—Lisa Davis-Craig, Canton P.L., MI

Masterful spiritual storyteller Coelho published Brida in 1990, two years following the publication of one of his most popular works, The Alchemist. Here translated into English, Brida follows the mystical experiences of a young Irishwoman named Brida O'Fern as she enters the world of witchcraft. Traveling from Dublin to the wild woods, Brida searches for her first teacher, the Magus, a man who recognizes her as his soul mate. The Magus starts her on her spiritual path through a test of faith before passing her to another teacher, Wicca, who helps further develop her mystical skills. As Brida grapples with lessons challenging her to remember her past lives and find her true path, she must also deal with her current lover and her growing attraction for the Magus from the woods. Blending the beliefs of pagan and Christian religions, Coehlo pulls through the common threads of love, faith, and the journey of the soul. Devotees of his works will spark demand for this interesting novel. Recommended for popular fiction collections.—Joy St. John, Henderson Dist. P.L., NV

Erickson (The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette; The Secret Life of Josephine) weaves historical details into this imaginative account of how Tatiana Romanov, the second of Nicholas and Alexandra's four daughters, escaped the Bolshevik assassins who killed Russia's royal family in 1918. As an elderly woman living in Canada, Tatiana recounts events from her life in pre-revolutionary Russia. Her interest in the lives of servants and others beyond the royal circle leads to her clandestine attempts to help cold, hungry Russians who grow increasingly resentful of the royal family. However, her parents refuse to acknowledge the changing political realities. Nicholas, an inept commander and weak ruler, indulges in personal pleasures, while Alexandra relies on the mystical powers of Rasputin to keep her hemophiliac son alive. In addition, Tatiana's tyrannical grandmother, self-centered sisters, and a bevy of royal relatives throughout Europe engage in romantic and political intrigues that affect the fates of individuals and nations. Tatiana's liaison with a military man loyal to the tsar and the devotion of a poor woman she had helped lead to her unlikely rescue. Despite knowing the real Tatiana's fate, readers will rejoice in the fictional version's survival. A sure winner for public library fans of historical romance. [Library marketing campaign.]—Kathy Piehl, Minnesota State Univ., Mankato

Gonzalez, whose second novel, The Mapmaker's Opera, appeared here in 2007, was born in Spain and moved to Canada as a child; she published this first novel there in 1998. Maria la Reina (Maria the Queen), matriarch of the Encarna family, opens a small hotel and runs it with her sisters and the women of the following generations. Their lives span the history of 20th-century Spain—they become rich dealing in contraband, suffer terribly during the civil war, become even richer during the Franco regime, and are caught up briefly in the regional separatist movement but continue to endure. The characters themselves are almost stereotypes, women in the mode of García Lorca—unhappy, jealous, passionate, and controlling. Their relationships with men are brief and inevitably violent. Descriptions of mouthwatering cooking and the delightful Galician countryside are interwoven with the historical layers of the novel so that, in spite of static characters, the book is thoroughly enjoyable. Recommended for larger public libraries.—Mary Margaret Benson, Linfield Coll. Lib., McMinnville, OR

Grace is a London-based pharmaceutical sales person by day and a yoga devotee by night. The loss of loved ones has left her reluctant to reach out to others. Then she meets Dr. David James, and their conversations reveal much common ground. Both see the flaws in their current jobs, and both aspire to better and more fulfilling lives. The chemistry between them bubbles beneath the surface. Still, they part—Grace to a California training program for yoga teachers, David to a Vietnamese course in non-Western medicine. Once certified, Grace returns to London and collects an eclectic array of yoga students, which helps her crystallize her plans for the future. David also returns to practice holistic medicine. With a little push from a friend, Grace and David are reunited, equally optimistic, refreshed, renewed, and ready to pursue a romantic relationship together. Gray's second novel (after Ten Men) details the mental and spiritual realignment of the midlife crisis. She captures the struggle and its consequences. Funny, sad, engaging, and optimistic, this story conveys almost as much about yoga as it does about the human condition. Recommended for all general fiction collections.—Joanna Burkhardt, Univ. of Rhode Island Coll. of Continuing Education Lib., Providence

This is the story of a bold and clever queen living in Tudor England, but not Elizabeth I, her cousin Mary Queen of Scots. Gregory's (The Boleyn Inheritance) latest historical novel focuses on the Scottish queen's exile in England (1568–87). The story is told from three points of view, that of Mary and her two "jailers," George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, and his wife, Bess of Hardwick. Each of these characters struggles with his or her assigned role. Bess is horrified at the expense of housing a monarch; her husband is alarmed at his infatuation with the beautiful young queen. And Mary tries to plot her way out of exile and back to her rightful place on the throne of Scotland. In her usual absorbing style, Gregory uses historical detail and palpable tension to re-create the drama as it unfolds. This is not her strongest novel to date: repetitive details clutter the middle of the story, and Mary's voice initially is too much the "anointed queen" and not quite as human as this reader hoped. But Gregory's fans, as well as readers who enjoy well-written historical fiction, will still gobble this title up. Recommended for most collections.—Anna M. Nelson, Naples Regional Lib., FL

In this entertaining road novel, Harrison (Returning to Earth) chronicles the travels of Cliff, a 60-year-old farmer and former high school teacher suddenly separated from his wife (who has sold the family farm) and on his own. In the American literary tradition, he takes to the road, heading west from Michigan and reuniting with a former student along the way. They carry on a torrid and confusing affair in motel after motel along the northern route, keeping to rural roads through small-town America. Once the woman catches up with her family in Montana, Cliff continues on his own, finally making it to the home of his wealthy gay son in San Francisco. Cliff is a mixture of redneck and intellectual, at home behind a tractor but also tuning in to NPR during his travels and musing about Lord Byron or Henry Miller in rambling stream-of-consciousness sentences. Eventually, he heads home, but in the meantime there is schmoozing in bars, flirting with younger women, drinking, smoking, indigestion, and Harrison's pointed observations on life and love, from cell phones to small-town landscapes, cherry farming, and fly-fishing. Very humorous and engaging, this work is recommended for most collections. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 6/15/08.]—Jim Coan, SUNY Coll. at Oneonta

While in Kosovo, Blake Johnson, an aide to the president of the United States, meets Harry Miller, a military agent for the British prime minister. The two become entangled in an incident with a Russian military squad that results in the British agent shooting a Russian soldier who was trying to torch a mosque. This killing in turn leads to a series of escalating retaliatory actions from the Russians that affect Johnson and Miller, as well as other British and American associates. The book features several characters from earlier Higgins novels (e.g., The Killing Ground, Without Mercy, and Dark Justice) and contains the same kind of action and adventure. A series of flashbacks helps to fill in the background story, so readers unfamiliar with Higgins's continuing series characters will be able to follow the plot. Because Higgins has a large fan base, this book will be of interest in all public libraries.—Joel Tscherne, Cleveland P.L.

Huston (The Mark of an Angel), a Canadian by birth though she lives in Paris and writes in French, is perhaps at her most ambitious in this new novel. An award winner and best seller in France here translated by Huston herself, the book is divided into four sections, each narrated by a precocious six-year-old child from a different generation of the same Jewish family. The book begins in contemporary California and works its way back to World War II-era Germany. Each movement backward brings the reader closer to the ultimate family secret that unites the past with the present while demonstrating how the implications of one war directly inform the family's thinking about and participation in another—Iraq. At times the point of view is less than convincing, but in the end the multiple viewpoints are well handled and show how children are so often more aware of the poor behavior of adults than adults themselves. Recommended for all fiction collections.—Brendan Curley, Brooklyn Coll. Lib., NY

History is more than facts and figures; it's something that happens to all of us. That's the thought that may strike readers of Kent's luminous first novel, set at the time of the Salem witch trials. In fact, Martha Carrier, Kent's grandmother back nine generations, was hanged as a witch in 1692. As portrayed here by her daughter, Sarah, Martha is a proud, stubborn, prickly woman, unbending in her beliefs and uninterested in public opinion. When Sarah returns to her family, having been sent away with a little sister because one of her brothers has the plague, she's not sure she wants to go back to her cold mother and dour, seven-foot father, who has some mysterious connection to Cromwell. But when malicious girls start pointing fingers, neighbor turns against neighbor, and Martha is told she will be arrested for witchcraft, she will not run, and she will not make a false confession. But Martha tells Sarah that when she is interrogated about her mother's activities, she must lie to save herself. Amidst the painful details of jail and persecution, deep-seated suspicion and familial betrayal, it is this powerful act of love that crowns the book. Highly recommended.—Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal

Paddy de Courcy is a rising political star in Ireland, with all the good looks and charisma of a Kennedy. Unfortunately, en route to realizing his political ambitions—a course culminating with his engagement to the "correct" political wife-to-be, Alicia—he's used and discarded several women. This novel's points of view alternate among four such women, and their distinct voices—e.g., when Lola narrates, it is without pronouns—make what might otherwise be a complicated story much easier to follow. For this is Keyes (Anybody Out There?), queen of chick-lit-with-a-purpose, and this time around, that purpose is examining, through her characters, a myriad of women's issues, primarily abuse and power. Lola, Paddy's most recent discard, is a fashion stylist who dresses Ireland's richest and most influential women. Grace is a journalist in a healthy relationship who also has a past with Paddy, as does her sister, Marnie, now married with children and amid some sort of breakdown. Together, these women's narratives form a sort of cacophony, until the individual melodies eventually weave together, creating a lovely yet engrossing story with an ending that should inspire women everywhere. Despite the Irishness of her setting and characters, Keyes explores universal themes that will resonate with readers. Her latest is highly recommended for all fiction collections. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 2/15/08.]—Stacy Alesi, Boca Raton, FL

The delicate (and invisible) line between genius and madness is deftly explored in Kimmel's fourth novel (following The Used World). Part Midwestern gothic, part psychological portrait, this novel is completely mesmerizing. Brilliant college senior Trace Pennington lives under the radar, silently managing the distance between her constrictive Indiana roots and the intellectual refuge that she craves. Trace's present is ever so carefully constructed, and her past follows her like a lost dog. Then in one impulsive instant, she completely deconstructs her life and hands it over to a man, a father figure who remakes her into an idealized image. When an old friend comes to stay and brings along with him an outsider's viewpoint, that delicate line between insanity and reality simply cannot hold. Ripe with Jungian archetypes and lofty academic psychobabble, Kimmel's latest keeps the reader off balance as it evokes the inevitable pain required to treat long-held wounds. Kimmel has displayed extraordinary range within her writing, from comic memoir (A Girl Named Zippy) to this heart-stopping depiction of Trace, who serves as a lightning rod for all of her family's grievous errors. Highly recommended for all literary fiction collections.—Susanne Wells, P.L. of Cincinnati and Hamilton Cty.

Something's not quite right with nine-year-old Lawrence's Mum, and he'll do anything within his power to keep her functioning and shield her from perceived dangers. Written by Kneale (English Passengers) with charm and outrageously bad spelling, the novel begins as Lawrence, his three-year-old sister, and their pet hamster are taken by Mum from their London cottage to Rome to escape her stalker ex-husband and return to the place where she had once worked and still has an extensive network of friends. Misfortune follows them as their car breaks down, bank cards don't work, and their kind friends struggle to find room for them and their many belongings. Warmly welcomed back to Rome at first, they begin to lose support owing to Mum's increasingly erratic behavior and her conviction that her ex-husband has followed them to Rome and turned her friends against them. As Lawrence immerses himself in Roman history from a series of "Horrible Histories," he renders the story of his mother's breakdown with touching sensitivity and vulnerability. Very highly recommended.—Barbara Love, Kingston Frontenac P.L., Ont.

A nameless and alienated young man is forcibly conscripted into the military and sent to fight a war being waged in an unknown country for unexplained reasons against an unseen and uncertain enemy. Sent out alone from the hotel where his unit is barracked, he is told simply to engage the enemies wherever he finds them. Thus begins his wanderings across an existentially devastated landscape in search of the enemy, other members of his unit, and, somewhat unexpectedly, himself. Scenes from his boyhood and failed marriage arise with hallucinatory power throughout his wandering, until it becomes clear that the war is as much a psychodrama as a physical battle. While the protagonist could have easily been little more than an existential cliché, and the story line, with its occasional parallels to Iraq, just veiled political commentary, the book's psychological turn gives it substance and dimension. The striking images, rising like flowers from the rubble, lend a surprising freshness. From the author of Famine; recommended for larger public libraries.—Lawrence Rungren, Merrimack Valley Lib. Consortium, Andover, MA

The only reason to go to Camp Rapture, in the heart of Lansdale's (Sunset and Sawdust) well-plowed patch of east Texas, is if you have to, and Cason Statler has to. He is having flashbacks from his service in Iraq still hankering for his ex, drinking too much, and has been fired from his job as a Houston journalist. As a new reporter for the local rag, Cason has to fill up the space between the ads with choice bits about the colorful local yokels and their animals. When he happens on the story of a drop-dead gorgeous coed who, after picking up an order of fast food, seemingly fell off the face of the earth, Cason's on it like a feist on a bone. With its mysterious disappearances, abandoned houses, midnight trysts, and hidden culverts, Lansdale's latest is a contemporary Hardy Boys story on crank, read to best advantage late at night under the covers, with the aid of a flashlight. As a safe bet for any patron who walks through the doors p.o.'d (with the weather, politics, life), this is recommended for all public libraries.—Bob Lunn, Kansas City P.L., MO

LaZebnik (Knitting Under the Influence; Same As It Never Was) has written another alluring tale of two seemingly different sisters, Ava and Lauren. Both think they have the answers for how the other sibling should live, ignoring some glaring gaps in their own personal history. Ava is the successful lawyer who can always be found in the frumpiest of frocks, whereas her younger sister lights up a room with her fashionable wardrobe but is now financially depleted because of it. When Ava decides to have Lauren sign a contract that states she will spend money only on necessities, Lauren humorously and affectionately decides that Ava should be held accountable to a "contract" their mother agreed to over 20 years ago that betrothed her to one Russell Markowitz. After Lauren tracks Russell down in an attempt to hook him up with her sister, Ava meets him and is erroneously convinced that Lauren is more his stylish type. It takes tender family bonding and some self-discovery for the two to realize that they are more alike than they thought. Recommended for fans of intelligent chick lit and all public libraries.—Anne Miskewitch, Chicago P.L.

Garret Millwood, a successful theater producer, should be happy—he's rich, handsome, and has plenty of lovers. But something has gone missing from his life as he's grown older: his lovers are temporary, he's estranged from his father, and he has only one close friend, his business partner, Alan. When he strikes up a friendship with irrepressible 17-year-old Lucy Walker on a flight to England, Garret finds in Lucy a new sense of family, while Lucy finds through him amazing opportunities in the theater and fashion worlds. This light and sweet novel suffers from the improbable luck of its characters—everyone is talented and attractive, and all the conflicts are glossed over a little too readily—but it is a happy escape read. Lewis is a professional musician whose first novel, Rockstarlet, focused on the music business. With a new album coming out, he's all set to provide the soundtrack for this script-ready story, should it ever be made into a movie. For larger public libraries.—Devon Thomas, DevIndexing, Chelsea, MI

Recent Fulbright scholar and celebrated author Lott (e.g., Jewel) here shows how one man's aspirations to become a famous Hollywood actor reverberate over three generations. In 1927, handsome Earl Holmes runs away from his Texas home at age 14 to Southern California. Some years later, after he has married budding, talented songstress Saralee Kennedy, his schemes to make it in the entertainment industry affect his young daughter, Joan. Years pass again, and Joan's twentysomething son, Brad, fresh off the boat after six years in the navy in Southeast Asia, arrives at Earl and Saralee's Southern California home to try to find direction in his life. As the novel moves among the experiences of these three characters, a story unfolds about how people, when feeling misunderstood and unloved by those they love, sometimes turn away in bitterness, and this causes years of hurt and unforgiveness to fester. Breaking such a stalemate requires courage. Written with a distinctive sense of emotional resonance, this novel reveals complex personal truths that feel authentic. Highly recommended for all library fiction collections. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 3/1/08.]—M. Neville, Trenton P.L.

Although Nell Plat is only 17, she has two daughters to her name. In rural Mercer County, KS, circa 1900, Nell is known for her skill with a needle and cloth. But the legend that will follow her all her life long is the one that finds her slipping away on a westward bound train. When Nell leaves her daughters and rube of a husband behind, she does so out of dreams and desperation. Working her way up from shopgirl to Hollywood costumer, Nell even marries again and has a child she loves deeply. But Nell is unprepared for what happens when her past catches up with her. Intriguing in that it is based on the author's (The Good Life; Lies of the Saints) grandmother's life story, this novel has a natural arc of suspense and is strong on historical detail. Though some readers may question its denouement (the plot unravels, and the last 40 to 50 pages seem cut of a different cloth), many will agree this novel is highly entertaining. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 4/15/08.]—Keddy Ann Outlaw, Harris Cty. P.L., Houston, TX

A Southern writer who has been compared to Nicholas Sparks, Martin wrote his sixth novel after hearing of a man divorcing a wife dying of breast cancer. Doss Michaels, a fishing guide and part-time artist in Charleston, SC, is willing to face possible kidnapping and other serious charges generated by his disapproving father-in-law to fulfill his wife Abbie's last wishes for one more adventure together—a 130-mile trip down St. Mary's River. Filled with stereotypes (Abbie is the beautiful daughter of a Charleston senator who considers Doss trailer trash) and stretching credulity at times (a woman dying of cancer surviving even a day in a canoe), this story might win over readers nonetheless with its theme of husbandly devotion. The many nice ideas and images throughout, such as the use of the river journey as a metaphor for life, and Abbie and Doss's loving 14-year marriage chronicled in alternate chapters also compensate. Yet the abundance of nature/wildlife detail may detract from the story for some readers. But Abbie's top-ten wishes for her last year will make readers consider their own. Purchase where Martin is popular.—Rebecca Kelm, Northern Kentucky Univ. Lib., Highland Heights

In this character-driven novel, the relationship of a trio of sisters is pushed to the brink by long-simmering jealousies and grievances brought to the surface by old flames and new loves. Bev is the middle sister, the smart one, divorced and between jobs, always conscious of meeting her family's expectations. Eldest sister Clare feels pressure to live up to her reputation as the pretty one, with her storybook marriage, beautiful family, and affluent suburban home. Youngest sister Joey is the talented one, the former rock star-turned-recovering drug addict who resists every encouragement to return to the stage. When the sisters discover a body concealed in a drum found in the crawl space beneath a neighbor's home, their sleuthing plays out against family drama and romantic tugs-of-war. Despite being punctuated by a couple of wrenching plot points and the somewhat ambiguous resolution, the novel is fast-paced and features great dialog. Meister's second novel (after Secret Confessions of the Applewood PTA) is a fresh take on the familiar "she's the smart/funny/talented one" refrain. Recommended for all public libraries.—Amy Brozio-Andrews, Albany P.L., NY

This debut novel by a recognized nonfiction author and poet is presented as the memoir of Japanese American Ben Ohara, who is married and has two sons. After the sudden disappearance of his younger brother Tommy, who abandoned a career as a brilliant scientist and fell into drug addiction and gambling, Ben attempts to come to terms with his past. Ben relates his childhood in the Chicago slums, where a street fight results in his arrest and incarceration in juvenile detention; the suicide of his father, a draft resister, or No-No Boy, during World War II (who never adjusted after his years in an interment camp); and his mother, who assimilated successfully into a post office career and remarried a Caucasian after her husband's death. Intermixed with these recollections are stories from Ben's unfinished dissertation of famous Japanese suicides. Ben discovers that by focusing on his past, he is like "someone other than who I'm supposed to be" and eventually commits himself to his family and the present. Despite the distinct stories about suicides and the Japanese internment camps, the novel is more like a patchwork of fiction and historical facts that does not hold together well. For larger collections only.—David A. Beronä, Plymouth State Univ., NH

In 1972, three white teenagers drive into a solidly African American neighborhood bent on "rais[ing] a little hell." What follows is tragic: one boy is left dead, another scarred for life, and a young African American is in prison. Thirty years later, two survivors of that fated afternoon accidentally reconnect and explore accommodation. But a third party to these past events has more sinister plans. Crime figures prominently in Pelecanos's latest depiction of life in the grittier streets of Washington, DC, but the author of The Night Gardener has always been more than a writer of crime fiction. Like Richard Price (Lush Life) and Dennis Lehane (Mystic River), with whom Pelecanos is often compared, he writes big-hearted novels of life as it is and not as we wish it were. His characters live complicated, often harrowing lives: you care what happens to them. As always, Pelecanos combines generosity of soul with scrupulous attention to detail and an acute sensitivity to the complicated dance of friendship and antagonism between people whose faces wear different colors. A virtue of this fine novel is the author's evident love for his characters, even the lost ones. Enthusiastically recommended for all general collections. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 4/15/08.]—David Keymer, Modesto, CA

Reading groups should gravitate to prolific writer Prose, who's never been one to eschew controversial subjects: a born-again neo-Nazi in A Changed Man, the sexually charged student/teacher relationship in National Book Award nominee Blue Angel, or the aftermath of a school shooting in the young adult novel After. Narrated by precocious 12-year-old Nico, this poignant novel explores one family's trajectory from life in a New England pastoral to lives of quiet desperation following the drowning death of Nico's older sister Margaret. Emotionally abandoned by a mother seeking solace in tranquilizers and a Walter Mitty-type father intent upon writing his tome on eschatology, Nico finds herself drawn to Margaret's artistic boyfriend, Aaron, whose grief and guilt mirrors her own. As the young couple spends unlimited, unsupervised time together, their relationship takes on a perverse quality, setting a mood of foreboding that is typical of Prose. Though wrapped up a tad too abruptly, this highly accessible novel, lightened with wry humor, is an insightful examination of the various ways people use imagination and memory to cope with devastating loss. Recommended for all public libraries, this book would also appeal to a YA audience. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 5/15/08.]—Sally Bissell, Lee Cty. Lib. Syst., Fort Myers, FL

All positive reviews are alike; each negative review is negative in its own way. Fortunately, there's no need to be negative here. Tolstoy himself would surely have given a nod to Reyn's re-creation of his Karenina, transported from glittering czarist Petersburg to Rego Park, Queens (a tragedy in itself!). Meet beautiful, alluring, Jewish Anna Roitman, who languidly accepts the proposal of Alex K., a Russian immigrant who's made good enough to escape the outer boroughs and establish himself on Manhattan's Upper East Side. You know the rest: wealth, childbirth, boredom, a new lover, and Anna K. forsakes home and hearth for her modern-day Vronsky, a struggling, ne'er-do-well writer and his six-story walk-up. First novelist Reyn, whose stories have appeared in Tin House, One Story, and the LA Times, among other publications, deftly fleshes out her unerring version of the Tolstoy classic. Equally absorbing is her pitch-perfect rendering of the life of newly arrived Russian immigrants in such neighborhoods as Brighton Beach and Rego Park. An impressive crossover; recommended not only for lovers of the classics but also those who prefer their fiction lite.—Edward Cone, New York

Following 2007's well-received Year of Fog, Richmond's new novel explores the lasting effects of loss and betrayal. Twenty years later, Ellie Enderlin is still haunted by the unsolved murder of her older sister, Lila, a brilliant math Ph.D. candidate at Stanford. With her family in turmoil after Lila's death, Ellie confides in a sympathetic English professor who then uses her confidences to write a hugely popular true crime book. Now a professional coffee taster and buyer, Ellie is on a business trip in Nicaragua when she by chance encounters Peter, Lila's secret lover and the man who the book claimed was Lila's killer, although the conjecture was never confirmed. This intense meeting reopens the painful past and sends Ellie on a renewed quest to find her sister's killer. This thoughtful, gripping page-turner grabs the reader's attention from the first chapter. Recommended for all public libraries. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 2/1/08.]—Andrea Y. Griffith, Loma Linda Univ. Libs., CA

Portuguese writer Rocha centers his thriller on the unexpected death of Pope John Paul I on September 29, 1978, only 33 days into his papacy. The author, who claims to have met the man who killed the pope (identified only as J.C.), ties the conspiracy to the clandestine Masonic lodge Propaganda Due (P2) and its grand master, Licio Gelli. Like Gelli, many of Rocha's characters are historical figures, including most of those implicated in Vatican scandals of the time—American archbishop Paul Marcinkus, chairman of the Institute for Religious Works (the Vatican bank), the mafia banker Michele Sidona, and P2 member Roberto Calvi (aka God's Banker) of the Banco Ambrosiano, found hanging from the Blackfriars Bridge in London in 1982. The pope's secretary of state, Cardinal Jean-Marie Villot, himself a Mason, an excommunicable offense, is also implicated in the crime. Before the novel's unsatisfactory conclusion (and the epilog supposedly written by the man who killed the pope), P2 will control the London office of the CIA and have a hand in most of the other conspiracies of the time. Unbelievable action (the fictionalized contemporary elements of this tale), shallow characterization, and banal narration limit the effectiveness of this Da Vinci Code wannabe. The author's annoying habit of trying to create suspense by referring to characters only as "this man, the fat man, the old man, the speaker, the subject, the pursuer, the assistant, the servant" adds to the confusion. For conspiracy addicts only.—Ron Terpening, Univ. of Arizona, Tucson

Tom and Anna Reed have good jobs, a two-apartment building in Chicago, and a considerable debt from that mortgage and numerous infertility treatments for a desperately desired child. When their mysterious downstairs tenant dies suddenly of natural causes, they discover nearly $400,000 in cash hidden in his apartment and their problems would seem to be over. Unfortunately, the money is from a botched drug deal. Two very bad guys want the money, several others want the missing drugs, and a cop wants the glory of solving a high-profile case. A classic tale of innocents caught up in evil with only themselves to trust, this is neither a simple nor a stereotypical thriller. According to Anna, "we're not evil, we're just in over our heads." As in his two previous critically acclaimed novels (The Blade Itself; At the City's Edge), Sakey focuses on the sometimes thin line between good and evil and the unforeseen tragedy that often results from good intentions. The action is frenetic, the suspense high, and the results shocking. Highly recommended for all popular fiction collections. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 4/1/08.]—Roland Person, Southern Illinois Univ. Lib., Carbondale

Alison's whole world changes when her mother marries plastic surgeon Conrad Dunn. She moves into a megamansion in the Hollywood Hills, leaves her public school behind for a prestigious prep school, and makes new friends. Her new friends have all had cosmetic work done on them by Alison's stepfather and give her suggestions on what she should have done. Although the thought of it creeps her out at first, she agrees to accept breast augmentation as a 16th birthday present. Her mother, Risa, also begins to contemplate having a nip or tuck done as she struggles with comparisons to Conrad's late first wife, whose model-perfect looks were crafted by Dunn. At the same time, murders are being committed around L.A. by the so-called Frankenstein Killer, who takes victims' glands and a facial feature. When the features are put together, whose face will it be? Saul's compelling 35th novel preys on society's obsession with beauty and perfection and imposes it on an innocent young woman. Recommended for all public libraries.—Amanda Scott, Cambridge Springs P.L., PA

Just in time for the Republican National Convention this September, Twin Cities literary fixture Schneider (formerly editor of the Hungry Mind Review) has concocted a comic detective novel that seems specially designed to annoy political conservatives. Augie Boyer is a middle-aged, pot-smoking, downwardly mobile private eye in Minneapolis who memorizes poetry in order to relax. Not Milton or Keats, mind you, but recent American poetry by the likes of John Ashbery and Thomas McGrath. Boyer's latest case involves a cache of priceless violins looted by the Germans in World War II. The main suspects are antiabortion activists who have come to Minnesota for the Republican presidential convention with the goal of murdering abortion doctors. But first they plan on killing Boyer's daughter, radical rock singer Minnesota Rose. The plot is contrived and the suspense is minimal, but Schneider's highly unusual blend of noir parody, violin lore, and contemporary verse makes this a good choice for summer reading lists, especially in an election year.—Edward B. St. John, Loyola Law Sch. Lib., Los Angeles

Brendan Cockburn has aspirations of being a serious journalist, but his priorities mostly seem to involve getting high and forgetting about real-world problems like a failing relationship with his newly pregnant girlfriend. When he's told to write a piece about a group created to protect its neighborhood, Guardian Angels-style, he assumes it's another dead-end assignment. But something about the story sounds suspicious, and Cockburn's curiosity kicks in. His digging quickly results in the deaths of several involved, a friendship with a strange prostitute, and what would be a great newspaper story if Cockburn weren't in the middle of it. Newcomer Segura's (deputy reviews editor, Publishers Weekly) hard-edged writing style is enjoyable at first, but it wears thin owing to his unlikable protagonist and flat characters. And while the action is gritty and has a realistic feel, it slows too often, despite the interest inherent in watching a burnout like Cockburn having to extricate himself from a dangerous situation. Recommended for large fiction collections.—Craig Shufelt, Fort McMurray P.L., Alta.

In January 1946, London is beginning to recover from World War II, and Juliet Ashton is looking for a subject for her next book. She spent the war years writing a column for the Times until her own dear flat became a victim of a German bomb. While sifting through the rubble and reconstructing her life, she receives a letter from a man on Guernsey, the British island occupied by the Germans. He'd found her name on the flyleaf of a book by Charles Lamb and was writing to ask if she knew of any other books by the author. So begins a correspondence that draws Juliet into the community of Guernsey and the members of the Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Named to protect its members from arrest by the Germans, the society shares their unique love of literature and life with a newfound friend. Seeing this as the subject of her next book, Juliet sails to Guernsey—a voyage that will change her life. Reminiscent of Helene Hanff's 84 Charing Cross Road, this is a warm, funny, tender, and thoroughly entertaining celebration of the power of the written word. This marvelous debut novel, sure to have book club appeal, is highly recommended for all collections. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 4/1/08.]—Susan Clifford Braun, Aerospace Corp., El Segundo, CA

Gabriel Allon—art restorer, master spy, and sanctioned assassin—returns in Silva's 11th thriller about terrorism in our violent world. After the murder of an informant in St. Peter's Basilica, Allon is sent to the newly wealthy but corrupt Moscow to stop arms dealer Ivan Kharkov from selling sophisticated weapons to al-Qaeda. Allon is caught and expelled after some nasty nights in a Russian prison. If the Russians won't play fair, then it's up to Allon and the rest of Israel's intelligence network to do the job. The key to Kharkov is his wife, Elena, who collects the works of a particular American artist, and Allon's art background enables him to get close to her. This results in an intricate dance that is a masterwork of technology and human foibles. Like all plans, however, Allon's go awry, and this leads to a tense and exciting conclusion. Some long-running series get tired; Silva's just improves with each new book. Highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 3/1/08.]—Robert Conroy, Warren, MI

The best-selling author of Triptych offers another compelling crime novel, bringing back familiar characters and using again the setting of Atlanta. Finding her daughter murdered in her upscale home, Abigail Campano kills her daughter's assailant in revenge. But is the situation that simple? Slaughter takes readers on a roller-coaster ride of suspense, mixing a slew of shady suspects with a detective with some secrets of his own that may—or may not—be pertinent to the case. She steers us from the grungy streets of Atlanta to the campus of Georgia Tech and into the politics of law enforcement, with the great details on the cityscape of Atlanta certain to impress fans familiar with the city. This is an excellent exploration of the universal hopes, fears, and dangers that swirl in the microcosm of a city. For popular fiction collections. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 4/1/08.]—Colleen S. Harris, Univ. of Tennessee at Chattanooga Lib.

In the tiny French town of Amour-sur-Belle, the residents are aging, and life for many has grown stale. Facing reduced circumstances owing to the increasing loss of hair among his clientele, local barber Guillaume Ladoucette has decided to embark on a new career—as the town matchmaker. Unfortunately, his talents with relationships are nowhere near as sharp as his old barbering scissors, and before long the residents of this charming hamlet are involved in a series of romantic misadventures. No one is spared—not the dentist, the midwife, the middle-aged, or the elderly; childhood enemies and unrequited passions all find a chance at love. Even Guillaume himself gets caught up in the madness when his own long-lost childhood love returns to town—divorced, eccentric, and as beautiful as ever. Filled with enchanting settings and a brilliant attention to detail, Stuart's first novel is an enjoyable trip through the sweetness, sadness, and hilarity that love—and life—often brings. Highly recommended for all fiction collections.—Leigh Wright, Bridgewater, NJ

Diagnosed with a fatal illness, Clara Griffin begins to keep a journal or write a novel. Which is it? Her husband, Clemente, a successful architect, discovers the notebook and reads it avidly. Is it all true, or is it made up? Does she really think him a smug, complacent bore? How did she find out he had a mistress? Did she really have a passionate affair in the midst of her illness? Did she know he was reading the notebook? This extraordinary novel weaves mystery with suffering, erotic tension, and human resilience. Chilean journalist and fiction writer Subercaseaux has published prolifically, but this is her first novel to be translated into English. One hopes that more will soon follow. Highly recommended.—Mary Margaret Benson, Linfield Coll. Lib., McMinnville, OR

Mara Coyne returns in Terrell's second novel, now heading her own firm in the aftermath of The Chrysalis case. Coyne accepts an assignment from prominent collector Richard Tobias to verify the provenance of a map located at—and subsequently stolen from—an archaelogical dig site. Proof of the existence of what is purported to be the earliest world map ever made would change our understanding of the history of the age of exploration. Terrell again follows three narrative paths, following Coyne on the hunt for the map in the present day while tracing the mapmaker in early 15th-century China and the eventual voyage of the map with Vasco de Gama's navigator. An intriguing blend of suspense and historical fiction featuring a strong protagonist in Coyne; for popular fiction collections.—Beth Lindsay, Washington State Univ. Libs., Pullman

Unemployed actor Hughie Venables-Smythe gets by on his good looks and boyish charm. Then one day, he sees an advertisement that changes his life. Valentine Charles, "procurer of rare domestic services," is looking for a "morally flexible" young man, and Hughie fits the bill to become a professional flirt, someone who boosts women's egos. However, when Hughie begins to use some of the techniques he's learned to enhance his own love life, nothing goes as expected. Tessaro's third novel (after Elegance and Innocence) boasts a large cast of entertaining characters—the plumber who loves the waitress who loves Hughie; Hughie's on-the-edge vixen lover who owns an exclusive lingerie store; Hughie's sister; an attorney and his perpetually pregnant wife; and a wealthy woman with a loutish, overbearing husband. With its delectable details and delicious characterizations, this book serves up a tasty slice of British life. Suitable for fiction collections of all sizes.—Shelley Mosley, Glendale Community Coll. Lib. Media Ctr., AZ

Setting her story in Konya, Anatolia (now Turkey), Tajadod, an émigré from Iran to France, describes three influential relationships in the life of Rumi, the 13th-century Turkish mystic. These relationships helped to transform Rumi from a serious scholar of the Koran into the internationally known poet of love and creator of the sama, the dance of the whirling dervishes. Rumi's lovers, as Nahal depicts them, were Shams-i Tabrizi, a dervish who first led Rumi away from conventional religious conventions; Salah, the uneducated goldsmith who was the antithesis of Shams; and the novel's narrator, Hesam, who left a life of privilege to become one of Rumi's followers. It is through Hesam that Tajadod seeks to understand and communicate the motivations for Rumi's transformation. Occasionally, the novel reads like a memoir, with Hesam adding details he has gathered from other sources to complete the picture. While the novel succeeds in recounting the particulars of Rumi's life, it fails to breathe life into the tale of Rumi. The writing is flat and artificial, even though wonderful samples of Rumi's couplets are liberally dispersed throughout. Recommended only for large fiction collections.—Faye A. Chadwell, Oregon State Univ. Lib., Corvallis

It's been five years since Valdes Rodriguez first introduced readers to the women of the Dirty Girls Social Club (in her novel of the same name). Accordingly, these fascinating sucias (dirty girls), as they call themselves—Amber, Elizabeth, Lauren, Rebecca, Sara, and Usnavys—have, along with readers, aged five years. Friends since their student days at Boston University, they are as close as most siblings and meet every six months in Boston to update one another on what's happening in their lives. Weight problems, infertility, boring spouses, and alternative lifestyles are just a few of the issues their discussions center on. Valdes Rodriguez, who has been called the "The Latina Terry McMillan," has once again written an extraordinary and impressive book. Told in six unique voices, from six unique points of view, her follow-up has a universality about it that makes it, like her first book about the sucias, an important addition to the fields of friendship novels and Latina literature and an excellent choice for fiction collections of all sizes.—Shelley Mosley, Glendale Community Coll. Lib. Media Ctr., AZ

Nel, an American, is traveling through Italy with her famous pianist husband when she suddenly despairs of her life and gets off the train. They had just left Venice, an enchanting place, but her husband's self-absorbed notoriety had not allowed her to enjoy it. On her own for the first time in eight years, Nel travels back to Venice and rents a room. A lost dog brings her to a chance meeting with its owner, an elderly contessa who has recently discovered a hidden fresco in her house. When Nel expresses interest in the painting, the contessa invites her to stay at her palazzo and help research the mystery that has arisen regarding the artist, thus giving her time to reflect about her situation. This intriguing debut novel quickly charms the reader into a magical world where a lost masterpiece and trunks filled with centuries-old clothes and books can be found in excellent condition, where a strange foreigner would be invited to live with an elderly woman, and where an unknown artist could be discovered by everyday heroes such as these turn out to be. Recommended for public libraries.—Kellie Gillespie, City of Mesa Lib., AZ

Originally published in China in 1987 and a best seller in both China and Taiwan, this work is set in the fictional town of Wali, where members of the Sui, Zhao, and Li clans closely intermingle. The "ancient ship" in the title refers to patriarch Sui Buzhao's former seafaring days, yet the story focuses on the glass noodle industry and the lives of the Sui siblings, brothers Baopu and Jiansu and their sister, Hanzhang. As in other Chinese story of epic proportion (the story spans 40 years), the characters lead a hard life that here includes severe famine and instances of violence, rape, and suicide. As in Li Qiao's Wintry Night and Han Shaogong's A Dictionary of Maqiao, Wei Zhang's numerous characters appearing throughout are difficult to track without taking notes, further complicating the reading. Because of the novel's previous success (and the obvious efforts made by the translator), it is both puzzling and disappointing to find the story line so disjointed. Though touted as part of HarperPerennial's "Modern Chinese Classics" series, this is not a work that typical readers of fiction or historical fiction will simply pick up and immediately appreciate. Not for public libraries, but academic libraries with large Chinese literature collections may consider with caution.—Shirley N. Quan, Orange Cty. P.L.s, Santa Ana, CA

Breytenbach is renowned both as an outstanding poet and essayist and as a leading Afrikaner opponent of the apartheid movement. The 27 snippets collected here rarely contain much in the way of character, dialog, or plot; often seem like surreal essays; and sometimes read like poetry. While some pieces are overtly political, most are philosophical explorations of the human imagination. They are accompanied by 27 watercolors by Breytenbach, some reminiscent of Chagall or Gauguin, which are every bit as surreal as the "stories." They are captivating in and of themselves but do not seem to have much relation to the texts. While this collection may attract a small cult of sophisticated readers, most libraries would be better advised to purchase Breytenbach's poetry or essays, such as True Confessions of an Albino Terrorist (1984) or The Memory of Birds in Time of Revolution (1996). Recommended for larger academic and public libraries and especially for Afrikaner collections.—Jim Dwyer, California State Univ. Lib., Chico

Enright follows up her 2007 Man Booker Prize-winning novel, The Gathering, with this collection of 31 short stories. Most of the selections are set in a contemporary Ireland that exhibits only tenuous links to the country evoked in the works of Joyce, O'Casey, or O'Brien. Formerly oppressive traditions, institutions, and social realities have given way to the global and cultural forces rapidly reshaping the country. Enright limns this transitional world and its diverse inhabitants, all unified by the mysterious discontents and dazzling triumphs of love, in breathtaking detail. In the title story, for example, a young woman discovers in her newborn child the grace to accept the well-intentioned but clumsy affection offered by her husband's family. Enright has been rightfully praised for her imaginative and stylistic powers. She is more than a gifted technician, however. She shows her readers how opportunities for grace emerge from the humdrum details and obsessive crises that make up our lives, and as such, she is one of the most distinctive and necessary authors writing today. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 5/15/08.]—J.G. Matthews, Washington State Univ. Libs., Pullman

A girl will only go out in public dressed as a ghost. A zookeeper sets the animals free. A wife becomes a cloud when her husband kisses her. A girl lives her life as a "Choose Your Own Adventure" book. The only elephants left on Earth are miniatures kept as pets. The moon stops glowing. A city grows in a woman's chest. Odd as these scenarios may seem, Meno renders them not just plausible but indicative of deeper truths within and between people. His prose can be very spare and direct to great effect. "Apples are kissing other apples. Gray cats are kissing other gray cats. Trees are kissing trees. You and I are not kissing. We work in an office together." It can also be complex and luminous but never flowery. As he demonstrated in his earlier collection, Bluebirds Used To Croon in the Choir, Meno knows just how to press a variety of emotional buttons ranging from giddy delight to not-quite-hopeless despair. Highly recommended for all public and academic libraries.—Jim Dwyer, California State Univ. Lib., Chico

Rivas (b. 1957), who writes in the ancient Galician language of northwestern Spain, infuses both his sentences and his subject matter with his own natural poetry. The title piece, taken from a 1660 painting by Vermeer possessing a mysterious quality of luminosity, develops the similarity between its subject and the author's own mother, also a milkmaid, who subsequently has the opportunity to react when told of the painting. Translator Dunne is Irish, as is the setting for the final story of the collection, "The Coming of Wisdom with Time." Three of the stories previously rendered by another translator (Margaret Jull Costa) were combined to make José Luis Cuerda's spectacular movie, Butterfly's Tongue, in 1999. These three stories explore a special bond between a boy and his teacher at the onset of the Spanish civil war and show how their idyllic year together ends as the Spanish Republic ends, with pain, grief, and shame. Rivas invokes folklore, fantasy, and psychology to create his 16 miniature dramas, which are highly recommended.—Jack Shreve, Allegany Coll. of Maryland, Cumberland

This high-quality collection contains 22 original stories presenting brand-new superheroes for our postmodern age. Edited by King (We're All in This Together) and McNally (America's Report Card), each of whom also contributes a story, the volume features crime fighters struggling with labels like freaky and creepy and facing post-9/11 problems like registering with the Department of Homeland Security. Working out of places like Cleveland and Shreveport, they boast a mind-boggling array of mutant abilities. The stories' authors have their tongues planted firmly in their cheeks as their superheroes declare "great legs!" to the girl in distress they've just saved, or boast that "I diverted a nuclear missile. I sidetracked a civil war. I removed a cat from a tree." The eye-catching cover graphic is supplemented by interior black-and-white line drawings by the talented Chris Burnham. Fresh and fun, this collection is sure to please everyone from the classic comics lover to the newbie Heroes fan. Highly recommended for public libraries.—Alison M. Lewis, formerly with Drexel Univ. Lib., Philadelphia