Fiction

Poet Calliope Bird Morath is a fitting Lady Lazarus: she's been desperately attempting to find her father's grave, even though she sometimes believes that he is still alive, and her life is so hellish that she feigns death before she is eventually resurrected. An author conducting research on Calliope discovers a parallel between his own son's life and that of the poet. Loosely based on the real-life story of rock musician Steven Tyler and his actress daughter, Liv, who was separated from him at birth by her divorced mother, this debut novel combines coarse language, substance abuse, and sex with intellectual quotations from such cultural icons as Plato, Nietzsche, Jung, Lacan, and Barthes, conveying a postmodernist sentiment. Placing celebrities like Charlie Rose and Ben Affleck in fictional situations and providing false footnotes, Altschul playfully and humorously delivers his novel in a pseudo-documentary style while exploring the serious themes of truth, group hysteria, and the transience of human existence. Regrettably, he elevates his characters' emotions to such a maniacal and operatic level that their resulting behavior may annoy some readers. An optional purchase for public and academic libraries. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 12/07.]—Victor Or, Vancouver P.L. & North Vancouver City Lib., B.C.

When Danny Cartwright proposes to his childhood sweetheart and she accepts, her brother—Danny's best friend—joins them for a night on the town. Four drunken toffs insult them at an upscale nightspot. In the melee that follows, the brother is stabbed, and the four gentlemen swear that Danny stabbed him. When the brother dies, Danny is sentenced to 22 years in maximum security. There's a reason why this sounds like The Count of Monte Cristo: Danny reads Dumas in his prison cell as part of his effort to improve himself. When Danny's cellmate is murdered, Danny assumes his identity and escapes to wreak vengeance on the perjurers who killed his best friend and took his own life away from him. The plot of Archer's latest potboiler (after False Impression) is hackneyed, and coincidence is stretched too far and too frequently. The characters are stereotypes and underfleshed; the ending is abrupt. Still, like other Archer thrillers, the book is compulsively readable: it will provide readers with many hours of relaxation. Recommended for popular fiction collections. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 11/15/07.]—David Keymer, Modesto, CA

In the 1950s the "wickedest city in America" was not Las Vegas but Phenix City, AL. Located just across the Chattahoochee River from Columbus, GA, and nearby Fort Benning, it was a notorious haven for gamblers, prostitutes (about a thousand in a town of 23,000 people), con men, and murderers. Worse, this cesspool of vice and human depravity was run by a corrupt political and law enforcement machine that thwarted any attempt at reform with intimidation and violence. But the 1954 assassination of Attorney General—elect Albert Patterson, who had vowed to clean up Phenix City, set events in motion that would change this town forever. Atkins's sixth novel (after White Shadow) and the first set in his home state of Alabama is a fictionalized retelling of this chilling murder and its dramatic aftermath. As reflected in Atkins's use of shifting narratives between the first-person voice of Lamar Murphy, a boxer-turned-gas station owner who becomes the town's new reform-minded sheriff, and the third-person perspectives of the criminals who stop at nothing to hold onto their power, this is the classic Western tale of good vs. evil, "played out not with horses and Winchesters but with Chevys and Fords and .38s and switchblades." The result is a gripping, superb crime story, all the more remarkable because it really did happen. Highly recommended for all popular fiction collections. [See the Q&A with Atkins on p. 78.—Ed.]—Wilda Williams, Library Journal

Nathaniel Mason is a graduate student in early 1970s Buffalo. At a beer party one autumn night, he meets the mysterious Jerome Coolberg, "a virtuoso of cast-off ideas." Coolberg quickly becomes obsessed with Mason, going so far as to steal his notebooks, his clothes, his girlfriend, and, finally, his memories and identity. But what exactly is Mason's identity? In Baxter's (The Feast of Love) view, everyone in Buffalo's student ghetto is a poseur, trying on different identities as though they were a change of clothes. Several decades on, in the book's second half, Mason is living a colorless existence in the Midwest, while Coolberg has transformed himself into a National Public Radio star who encourages people to narrate personal stories on the air. In a surprise ending, we learn that Coolberg played a much bigger role in Mason's life than we'd originally been led to believe. Though the novel's menacing academic setting recalls Donna Tartt's brainy thriller, The Secret History, this is basically a lightweight doppelgänger tale infused with 1970s nostalgia. The real fun comes in decoding Baxter's cultural allusions. For larger fiction collections. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 10/15/07.]—Edward B. St. John, Loyola Law Sch. Lib., Los Angeles

Following in the tradition of Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta forensic series, Becka's sequel to her debut thriller, Trace Evidence, once again features Evelyn James, a forensic specialist in the Cleveland Medical Examiner's Office. Two women, with no apparent connection to each other, are found murdered in their immaculate and seemingly impenetrable homes, and a third woman, Evelyn's assistant, is discovered near death in her apartment building. There are no signs of forced entry and scant amounts of evidence and information. As Evelyn attempts to investigate, she also must cope with a lack of sleep, a teenage daughter, and a cop boyfriend pressuring her for a commitment. Although Becka uses story and character formulas not unlike Cornwell's, her Evelyn James character stands apart because she focuses on the trace evidence from crime scenes (and less on the physical findings derived from autopsies), has a more complicated set of relationships, and exhibits a good deal of humor and vulnerability, so readers can relate to her easily. This fast-paced, well-written, and entertaining narrative leaves the reader wanting the next book in the series. Recommended for all thriller and popular fiction collections.—Nicole A. Cooke, Montclair State Univ. Lib., NJ

Having enjoyed an illustrious debut with the 2007 Edgar Award—winning The Faithful Spy, Berenson deploys CIA agent John Wells to defuse a cleverly triangulated scheme aimed at vaulting China to full status as a major world power. Ambitious General Li, hoping to aid hundreds of millions of struggling Chinese have-nots, launches plots in North Korea, England, and Afghanistan to consolidate his power in Beijing. Working with shards of evidence, Wells races to decode the plot just hours before the Li-choreographed war erupts. Especially effective as psychological studies of men under stress are the contrasting portrayals of CIA agent Wells, warts and all, with the CIA mole who shops the United States to General Li. Berenson marshals turncoats, the Taliban, and testosterone to produce a tautly paced, credible, and gripping scenario guaranteed to buttress Berenson's niche as one of the stars in the suspense firmament. For public library suspense collections. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 10/1/07.]—Barbara Conaty, Falls Church City, VA

During the 1920s, the American West held boundless possibilities for freedom of expression, and thus became a mecca for artists and writers. Debut novelist Boaz, a native of New Mexico, offers a story based on the journey of D.H. Lawrence and his companions as they headed to Taos in search of their Utopia. One of those travelers is fictionalized as Doll, an inhabitant of Victorian England, who manages to attend art school in London despite her hearing impairment. Entranced by the freedom she finds there, she disavows her bourgeois family and heads to the American West with a band of "free thinkers." Once they arrive in New Mexico, they realize that living off of the land is not as easy as it seems and many head back to the confines and comforts of home. But Doll stays for a lifetime, and her story is told in alternating time frames, 1924 and 1963. Each era holds a series of parallel discoveries for her: the freedom of an entirely new life, the freedom of sexual expression at an advanced age. Not quite a character study and not quite a period piece, this novel portrays the human experience of seeking new vistas and new connections and, in the end, accepting what is found. What begins as an interesting premise becomes somewhat overshadowed by a surplus of seemingly unrelated events. Recommended for larger public libraries where there is an interest in the art colonies of the West.—Susanne Wells, P.L. of Cincinnati & Hamilton Cty.

Bodman's follow-up to her debut thriller, Checkmate, opens with the chilling scenario of mysteriously crashing passenger planes. The President and his staff are stumped because nothing resembling a weapon or mechanical failure can explain the cause of these disasters. With the public in a panic, the President asks Dr. Cammy Talbot, an expert on laser systems, to work her magic again and save the country. While uncovering evidence that a foreign country is using stealth technology to hide missiles, Cammy finds that for her survival she must rely on a man she hoped never to see again. Some clunky writing summarizing the plot of the first novel and the characters' love lives distract a bit from the overall thrilling narrative. That said, Bodman's insider knowledge of government operations (as a former senior director of the National Security Council) and the scary plausibility of the story line make this worth reading. For larger fiction collections.—Jeff Ayers, Seattle P.L.

In this second novel by the author of the award-winning Upstate, 15-year-old Shivana Montgomery yearns for some sweetness and ease from the depressing burden of her bleak future. A black girl in a Chicago high-rise, Shivana has been worn down by a hard-edged life with a bitter mother. Pregnant by the husband of the woman for whom she babysits, Shivana finds a friend in Rasul, a parentless 19-year-old boy in her building. She begins to dream about keeping the baby and having a life replete with possibilities—more like her visiting Aunt Jewel's than her mother's. The gritty realism of Shivana's story is relieved by mystical/spiritual passages of narration by the soul waiting to be born as Shivana's child, after tragically short spells in other black wombs. Able to catch brief glimpses of the future, this sorrowful soul gently guides Shivana to Rasul and away from an abortion. Recommend this moving novel to readers who enjoyed Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye or Sapphire's Push; for all African American fiction collections and most general fiction collections.—Laurie A. Cavanaugh, Brockton P.L., MA

Buxbaum's debut is a welcome addition to the having-it-all genre. The characters are likable, and the story line moves along so amusingly that you'll want to keep reading into the night. Emily Haxby is an up-and-coming attorney at a big firm in Manhattan. From the outside, she seems to have her life tied up flawlessly with a big red bow; however, the package is coming unraveled. On the verge of becoming engaged to Andrew, the perfect guy, she freezes and breaks up with him. Other life events creep in to sidetrack Emily. She's given an assignment on a sleazy legal case defending a company that's knowingly polluting the environment, and her lecherous boss propositions her in a hotel room. Then Emily's favorite family member, Grandpa Jack, starts to exhibit the frightening symptoms of Alzheimer's. Repeatedly mourning the death of her mother (when Emily was a child) and her completely distant politician father, Emily finds that the turmoil in her life is leading her to take harsh actions. Can Emily pull it together—work, family, love life, and all? You'll be turning pages until you find out! Highly recommended for all fiction collections. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 10/1/07.]—Beth Gibbs, Davidson, NC

Spiritual medium Anna has moved from Ann Arbor, MI, to New York City so that she can embrace her gift and make it her living. Anna likes her routine: diner dinners, soothing laundry, dysfunctional family telephone calls, and needy friends. When Edward, a quiet classical pianist, moves into her building and prepares for a competition that could launch his career, the two plunge into a roller-coaster relationship sparked by the machinations of a mischievous ghost, who tries to give Edward advice through Anna. The main story line could have been fascinating, but it is quickly buried beneath confusing secondary stories and characters. The overwritten prose, laced with too many adjectives and adverbs, makes it difficult for readers to get lost in the characters' emotions. Still, given the popularity of Cameron's nonfiction titles, primarily The Artist's Way : A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity, this novel will attract a following. A good bet for high-circulation numbers, even if it disappoints readers.—Stacey Hayman, Rocky River P.L., OH

The violent tactics of the Weathermen of the 1960s have inspired several excellent novels in recent years, notably Susan Choi's American Woman (2003) and Dana Spiotta's Eat the Document (2006). Both deal with the experience of living as a fugitive inside the United States, with a menial job and a fake ID. Australian novelist and Booker Prize winner Peter Carey offers a slightly different take on sixties radicalism. Carey's heroine Dial (short for Dialectic) has just landed her dream job at Vassar when she gets a call from her flamboyant friend Susan Selkirk, a gun-toting radical wanted by the FBI. Putting Vassar on hold, Dial ends up escaping to Australia with Selkirk's son Che, where they move into a ramshackle hippie commune in the outback. Most of the book describes their daily struggle to make a home together. Carey is more interested in exploring Dial's motives and Che's sense of identity than he is in rehashing American politics. Indeed, for an author best known for vivid period pieces like True History of the Kelly Gang (2000), this is a strangely unhistorical work. Emotionally charged but awkwardly constructed and slow-moving, this effort is not up to Carey's usually high standards. For larger fiction collections. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 10/1/07.]—Edward B. St. John, Loyola Law Sch. Lib., Los Angeles

In a rollicking tale that is equal parts Tom Jones, Tristram Shandy, and Gulliver's Travels, award-winning novelist Charyn (The Green Lantern) vividly re-creates revolutionary Manhattan through the eyes of young double agent John Stocking, aka Johnny One-Eye. In Zelig-like fashion, Stocking saves Benedict Arnold from death, consoles George Washington by regaling the colonel with fairy tales, befriends the British commanders Sir William Howe and his brother, "Black Dick" Howe, and falls in love with one of the prostitutes in the brothel he calls home. Much like the foundlings of Charles Dickens's and Henry Fielding's tales, the picaresque hero Stocking moves from episode to episode, seeking the story of his birth only to find he is the illegitimate son of his protector, the madame of Holy Ground, a famous Manhattan bordello. Through the eyes of his young hero, Charyn gives us a glimpse of the Revolutionary War as lived not by the soldiers and the politicians but by those whose homes, jobs, and lives were completely turned upside down by the war. Highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 10/1/07.]—Henry L. Carrigan Jr., Evanston, IL

Mahabharat, the Sanskrit epic of ancient India, tells of two noble families, the Pandavas and the Kauravas, who battle each other over rule of the Hastinapura kingdom. Divakaruni (The Mirror of Fire and Dreaming) retells this drama from the perspective of Panchaali, the wife of all five Pandava brothers. Born from fire, Panchaali has led an unusual life from the outset. Unlike other women, she has no interest in typical female endeavors; she would rather be tutored alongside her brother in the art of war and the machinations of ruling a kingdom. Also unlike other women, she is married to five men—all of whom love and respect her. But Panchaali's heart belongs to her husbands' enemy, the famous warrior Karna. Divakaruni has taken a male-centered story and breathed new life into its female characters, giving us a rich tale of passion and love, power and weakness, honor and humiliation. Whether or not readers are familiar with the Mahabharat epic, still fascinating and relevant several millennia on, they will enjoy this entertaining, insightful, and suspenseful story. Recommended for all fiction collections. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 10/1/07.]—Joy Humphrey, Pepperdine Law Lib., Malibu, CA

A young Englishman finds his mother dead in her apartment in St. Petersburg, Russia, and there begins the unfolding of a saga based on the author's family history. His writing supercharged with high-voltage prose, Docx (The Calligrapher) drives his characters from New York to London to St. Petersburg in a relentless search for the truth—the "pravda" of the title. When the twins Isabella and Gabriel Glover attend the funeral of their Russian-born mother, Maria, in the former Russian capital, they are unaware that their lives are about to become forever intertwined with that of a lone Russian piano student Arkady Artamenkov. In their subsequent peregrinations, the twins discover unbelievable family secrets that make them question their very relationship to their closest kin. Though Docx's prose veers out of control at times—it is both well written and well overwritten—he manages to elevate this most dysfunctional family to the level of international intrigue. Caustic, hip, and highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 9/15/07.]—Edward B. Cone, New York

Following hard on the heels of Downie's highly praised historical debut, Medicus, comes her second book of the adventures of Ruso, a military doctor with the Roman army and a reluctant murder investigator. Having just solved the mysterious deaths of several prostitutes (as recounted in the first book), Ruso accepts a posting to the northern border of Roman Britain in the hopes of getting a much-deserved rest and a return to actual medical practice. Instead, he finds himself at the center of an investigation into the death of a Roman soldier. The murder victim's missing head, an overzealous military aide who doesn't hesitate to use torture to force confessions from the local natives, a drug-addled fellow medic who has confessed to the murder, a stag-headed rabble-rouser, and Ruso's housekeeper all play a part in the drama. Saving this novel from a certain gritty grimness often found in mysteries is Downie's wry and witty humor. Ruso is an absolutely charming and irascible character whose self-deprecating style makes for some genuine laugh-out-loud moments. Who would guess that life and death in the far reaches of the Roman Empire could be so darn funny? Fans of Steven Saylor and Lindsay Davis will enjoy. Recommended for all public libraries. [Downie is a part-time librarian.—Ed.].—Jane Henriksen Baird, Anchorage P.L., AK

This first novel explores the interactions between two families, one Muslim and the other Christian, in an Istanbul suburb during the earthquake that struck Turkey in 1999. Sinan Basioglu fears the influence of his Christian neighbors, Marcus and Sarah Roberts and their son Dylan, on his son Ismail and daughter Irem. He tries to minimize contact with them, but the earthquake binds the two families together. Ismail is buried in the rubble for hours and presumed dead. He survives miraculously when Sarah Roberts sacrifices her life to let him live. Now indebted to Marcus, the Basioglus are also homeless and forced to stay in the refugee camp he runs. Irem is increasingly drawn toward Dylan, Ismail to Christianity, and the novel quickly builds to its tragic conclusion. Drew occasionally descends into melodrama but in general has produced a fast-paced and well-written narrative, one that convincingly explores the tensions between Islam and Christianity and the seismic cultural shifts that can result from natural disasters. Recommended for larger academic and public libraries. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 10/1/07.]—Douglas Southard, CRA International Lib., Boston

Dumas's final novel, discovered by scholar Claude Schopp around 1990, was originally published in installments from January to November 1869 in Le Moniteur Universel. Set in the Age of Napoléon, the novel is historically situated between The Companions of Jehu (which actually begins the story of The Last Cavalier's protagonist) and The Count of Monte Cristo. Its protagonist is Hector, the young Comte de Sainte-Hermine, who must abandon the woman he loves to avenge the deaths of his father and older brothers for the Royalist cause. Following Hector from France to Burma, the story is vintage Dumas. Though it is incomplete (the scene in progress is completed by Schopp), there is enough adventure and intrigue to satisfy the most demanding reader. In addition, this translation includes an informative essay by Schopp on the history and discovery of the lost novel as well as an appendix containing the first three chapters of another episode. A best seller in France upon its publication in 2005, this book is appropriate for all fiction collections.—Karen Walton Morse, Univ. at Buffalo Libs., NY

Beautifully told, this old-fashioned love story is the kind of fiction readers have come to expect from Earley after his luminous, warmhearted first novel, Jim the Boy. Here readers reencounter the main character of that novel and the sleepy rural community in North Carolina where he lives. Jim is now a senior in high school who finds himself on the verge of adulthood and attracted to a young woman of Cherokee descent named Chrissie Steppe. Their relationship blossoms from infatuation to love, and Earley handles this developing romance with great tenderness and emotional warmth. The novel is set during the ominous early years of World War II, and foreboding historical events infuse Jim and Chrissie's situation with considerable poignancy and pathos. Earley also brings to life a very appealing rural community, conjuring up a portrait of a bygone America where people conducted themselves with dignity and devoted themselves to simple virtues and values. Enthusiastically recommended. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 12/07.]—Patrick Sullivan, Manchester Community Coll., CT

Faust, author of the award-winning novelization Snakes on a Plane (2006), becomes the first woman to be published by Hard Case with this "pulpy little revenge story," as she calls it. Former porn star Angel Dare (née Gina Moretti), who stopped acting to establish Daring Angels, a firm that manages women in the business, is lured to perform once more by a hot young male star. Instead, she's beaten, raped, shot, and left for dead in the trunk of a car, and that's just the start—all because of money from the international sex trade. With the help of her company's ex-cop security escort, Lalo Malloy, Angel untangles the plot and players, depending finally on nothing but her own resources for the vengeance she craves. A rip-roaring story with nonstop action and an inside look at X-rated movie making, this is clearly not for all readers or collections; but the title (which originated in the porn industry) and cover art are indicators of its contents. Buy accordingly. [See Prepub Mystery, LJ 10/1/07.]—Michele Leber, Arlington, VA

Foreign correspondent and novelist Fesperman has created another contender for his growing list of prize winners (e.g., The Prisoner of Guantánamo). Freeman Lockhart, the Arabic-speaking titular spy, is burdened by guilt for his unwitting participation in horrific blunders as an aid worker in Africa. As Lockhart attempts to retire with his new wife to a Greek island, mysterious strangers play on that guilt to blackmail him into spying on a Palestinian ex-colleague in Jordan. The plot is complex, the sense of place powerful, and the characterization memorable. A parallel plot features an Arab American woman whose story at last converges with Lockhart's. Even with lots of Arabic names and counterspy activity, Fesperman's novel is an easy read, offering neither the excessive blood-letting nor the multiple sexual encounters (although there is an appropriate dollop) that clog many contemporary page-turners. The bad guys, while threatening, are unexpectedly not very physical. Fesperman expertly builds the tension until the reader is enmeshed emotionally. A subtle summary partway through helps keep the plot cooking and the reader's elbows on the table. The conclusion is sudden but the book satisfying in its entirety. Recommended for all libraries. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 11/1/07.]—Jonathan Pearce, California State Univ.-Stanislaus, Stockton

Nina is a self-employed yoga instructor in an affluent part of Essex County, NJ. She caters to the blond wives of rich Manhattan businessmen and is secretly ashamed of her Long Island upbringing as a Jewish American Princess. Now she's a Unitarian, pleased with her own open-mindedness and environmental outlook. "She drove a Prius, recycled religiously, eschewed synthetics, shopped organic, drank bottled water and bought all her stationery from third-world countries." When her husband loses his job as a weather forecaster at the airport, Nina's planets go out of alignment and all sorts of bad karma comes her way: a yoga student falls and threatens to sue, a hurricane in Florida scares her meddling mother into a surprise visit, and her son starts acting strangely after attending a rich classmate's bat mitzvah. Galant, whose first novel, Rattled, proved that she had a talent for zany suburban social satire, strikes again. This time her characters are slightly more sympathetic, if pathetic, but the action is madcap and nonstop. Recommended for all public libraries.—Christine Perkins, Burlington P.L, WA

This raw narrative about the life of the teenaged Sonny is especially intriguing because of its gritty authenticity. Gilb (Gritos) conveys a realness lacking in more conventional novels by using a mix of Spanish and English to show how Sonny speaks and thinks and by allowing the plot to skip along in relation to Sonny's tangled thoughts. Sonny's Mexican American mom has married a narrow-minded white man named Cloyd, whom Sonny dislikes. He and his mom have moved into an apartment building Cloyd owns called Los Flores, where Sonny makes friends, falls in love, loses his virginity, and fends for himself. Sonny's perspective is presented with a clarity that has an almost Brechtian effect; readers will identify with him, but the jagged style of the narration will keep them at a remove. As in life, Sonny's story lacks a tidy resolution; though he helps someone else find freedom, his own story remains unfinished. Recommended for large public and academic libraries.[See Prepub Alert, LJ 10/15/07.]—Henry Bankhead, Los Gatos P.L., CA

When Kyra Levin, an architect involved in building an experimental city/arts complex on a small island off the Massachusetts coast, meets Hungarian theatrical director Andreas, she is cautious about their attraction. With much respect for each other's professions, they collaborate on staging an unconventional opera and ultimately fall in love. Kyra has loved deeply before; her husband was murdered by her half-brother during the 1975 civil war in Cyprus. There is a depth of sadness in Andreas, too, owing to a similar love-related loss. When these two creative people part suddenly, Kyra experiences a breakdown and turns to a psychotherapist named Greta; their relationship becomes the ground for the novel's richest excavations. This first novel by feminist scholar Gilligan, best known for her groundbreaking 1977 work, In a Different Voice: Psychological Theory and Women's Development, has a rarefied, cerebral quality that may not appeal to wide audiences. Recommended for larger libraries. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 9/1/07.]—Keddy Ann Outlaw, Harris Cty. P.L., Houston

Grant, whose The Passion of Alice was long-listed for the Orange Prize and was a finalist for the Lambda Award, here tells the story of Ann, a white Irish Catholic teen living in South Boston. With integration just beginning in "Southie" schools in 1974, Ann develops a crush on her black French teacher, Mademoiselle Eugenie. She also falls in love with Rochelle, a smart-mouthed black girl and family friend of Mademoiselle Eugenie. Her love for Rochelle and admiration for her teacher lead her to an impossible choice: turn in her brother to the police for burning Eugenie's car or stay quiet and lose Rochelle. The double burden of same-sex and interracial love in a very prejudiced time and place causes great confusion for both Ann and Rochelle, and Ann ultimately erupts in a fiery act of destruction. The book's political climate is well portrayed, with extremists on both sides making life difficult for those trying to get beyond the racial divide. Recommended for medium and larger public libraries.—Amy Ford, St. Mary's Cty. Lib., Lexington Park, MD

Twenty-eight-year-old Willie Upton has just detonated a promising academic career by her scandalous affair with a married professor. Now pregnant, she slinks home to Templeton, NY, just as an enormous dead monster is pulled from nearby Lake Glimmerglass. There, Willie's mother, a former hippie, admits she has always lied about Willie's paternity and discloses this one clue about her biological father's actual identity: he is a descendant of Judge Marmaduke Temple and currently a prominent member of Templeton. Sound familiar? Pay attention: James Fenimore Cooper is from Cooperstown, NY (as is Groff) and used it as the model for Templeton, NY, setting of The Pioneers. Yes, Groff has daringly used Cooper's Templeton and its inhabitants as the launching pad for Willie's search for her father. Willie takes her mother's clue and pulls on it, following endless strands to get her answer, all the while tormented with indecision about her own pregnancy. Liberally peppered with old photographs, diary entries, letters, and a family tree constantly in need of revision as Willie eliminates one possibility after another spanning more than two centuries of shocking Templeton history, this is an irresistible adventure. Highly recommended.—Beth E. Andersen, Ann Arbor Dist. Lib., MI

A poet and a novelist whose The Reef was shortlisted for the Booker, Gunesekera tackles some soulful topics, including the effects of time and spatial relations on life, the meaning of home and family, and friends from past lives and lost loves. In a skillfully drawn narrative, we are shown glimpses of Sunny Fernando's childhood and adolescence in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Sunny moves to London to attend engineering school but withstands his father's disapproval to drop out and eventually become a photographer. With the language of a poet, the author lets us understand how Sunny sees the world as he constantly seeks for the perfect photo that will capture everything in his heart. The novel climaxes at a cricket match, where Sunny meets old friends and a lost love, snapping the perfect photo that will give his soul peace. Strongly recommended for all libraries.—Lisa Rohrbaugh, East Palestine Memorial P.L., OH

The enigmatic Thorn, antihero of nine previous Hall novels (including Magic City and Off the Chart), finds himself embroiled in treachery that seriously disrupts his solitary life on the Florida Keys. The death of Abigail Bates, matriarch of the Bates family and head of Bates International, a family-owned business that has made billions strip mining phosphate in central Florida, reveals that Throne is a Bates grandson and heir to one-third of Abigail's estate. This answers many nagging questions concerning Thorn's history but introduces greedy family members, a revenge-seeking Iraqi war veteran, and a manipulative corporate lawyer who plots a deadly ambush in the Florida Everglades. Hall has effectively captured the beauty and fragility of the Florida wilderness and the environment-vs.-big-business issues that threaten Florida's embattled ecosystem and parleyed them into a gripping story of adventure and suspense. Despite the testosterone-laden final pages, which stretches credibility as Hall physically and mentally overcomes a near-impossible situation, this will keep readers glued to their armchairs. For popular fiction collections. [See Prepub Mystery, LJ 10/1/07.]—Thomas L. Kilpatrick, Southern Illinois Univ. Lib., Carbondale

Hester Day is an 18-year-old lost soul who doesn't know what to do with her life. After hearing about orphans in need, she impulsively marries a random homeless man she meets at the library because the orphanage told her she could not adopt as a single person. When her parents discover her secret marriage, she escapes "persecution" by running away with her husband and her ten-year-old cousin Jethro in a camper named Arlene on a cross-country adventure filled with hitchhikers, police confrontations, and small-town strangers lending a helping hand. While Hester's madcap escapade may appeal to some teens that imagine homelessness, kidnapping, and hitchhiker roulette to be a romantic experience, adults may feel less than kindly toward Hester. Her spoiled and self-centered actions do not make her endearing or likable, and the other characters aren't quirky or appealing enough to save this first novel from mediocrity.—Kellie Gillespie, City of Mesa Lib., AZ

Set in the remote wilderness of 1844 America's uncharted Michigan territory, this is a stunning debut novel from the author of the collection On the Nature of Human Romantic Interaction. The narrative—parallel journeys of 16-year-old runaway Elisha Cook and his Reverend father, who leaves his Massachusetts home in search of his son—is heartfelt, well researched, and deftly written, presenting the travails of frontier life in a manner that is both intelligent and urbane yet also raw and unflinching: the historical record of violence and despair that accompanied America's northwestward expansion is captured in full and vivid detail. As the book hurtles along with all the adventure and romance expected of a historical novel of this sort, a lone thread of tender melancholy reminds us of the cost that nation building imposes on those the nation is built over. Recommended for all academic and public libraries.—Christopher Bussmann, Pratt Inst. Lib., Brooklyn, NY

Tragedy strikes the McMartin family when 16-year-old Helen becomes involved in a near-fatal accident after arguing with older sister Miranda over the use of the family car. Miranda and parents Darius and Sophia each respond differently to this catastrophe. Their story is intertwined with that of Harry Harlow, the driver of a vehicle involved in the accident and host of a popular, bizarre reality television game show, as well as a number of secondary characters. Over the next eight months, during which Helen remains comatose, crucial decisions loom and unexpected choices are made. In this debut novel, Vogue contributing editor Johnson depicts the many ways life can change. These changes are generally presented in a way that is both honest and compelling, but surprisingly it is the peripheral characters who seem thwarted. As the story unfolds and the family dynamics play out, the now disjointed McMartins move toward the transformations brought about by the tragedy. In the end, this heartfelt, poignant, and sometimes humorous and ironic study emphasizes the resilience of the human spirit. For larger fiction collections. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 9/1/07.]—Andrea Tarr, Corona P.L., Alta Loma, CA

Since Kertész won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2002, Knopf has published new translations of Fatelessness, Kaddish for an Unborn Child, Liquidation, and, now, this superb short novel about a torturer for the state police. With Kertész having survived both Auschwitz and Communist rule in his native Hungary, the clarity and objectivity with which he examines oppressors here is particularly surprising, e.g., he portrays the secret police in varying degrees of amorality rather than as a singular brutish, irrational monster. While Diaz is a shameless sadist, Martens, the secret policeman jailed for the torture and murder of a prominent businessman and his shiftless son, is capable of empathy and realizes he doesn't actually understand why people are cruel. Nevertheless, he had been easily recruited into this unprincipled occupation. The novel, which takes place in a vaguely Central American country, was originally published in Hungary in 1977. But because it references the decades-old Holocaust and yet could still easily be set in contemporary times, it illustrates the heartbreaking timelessness of this cancer of hatred. Highly recommended for public and academic libraries. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 9/1/07.]—K.H. Cumiskey, North Carolina State Univ. Libs., Raleigh

With this new stand-alone, King once again departs from escapades of her series detectives Mary Russell (The Game) and Kate Martinelli (The Art of Detection) and returns to the exploration of postwar adjustment that was the focus of Keeping Watch. Using the growth of the labor movement during the 1920s as a backdrop, she creates a community of characters whose motives and behaviors stem from their World War I experiences. At the center of the action is Cornwall resident Bennett Grey, a man with an uncanny ability to sense turmoil and deception within other individuals. Acquired after he sustained battle injuries, Grey's gift makes him an invaluable tool for F.B.I. agent Harris Stuyvesant, who is bent on tracking down the suspected British source of sophisticated incendiary devices used in more than one violent union confrontation on American soil, but it causes Grey both physical and mental distress. Realistic psychological drama, strong research, and impeccable writing style make this a tale not to be missed. Highly recommended.—Nancy McNicol, Hamden P.L., CT

Construction multimillionaire Edgar Freemantle has a violent side. After he loses his right arm in a critical work accident, Pam, his wife of more than 29 years, asks him for a divorce. In a spurt of anger, Edgar uses his remaining limb to stab Pam with a plastic knife. Heeding the advice of his therapist, Edgar packs up and leaves Minnesota for some psychological rehabilitation along the Florida Gulf Coast on the undeveloped island of Duma Key. There aren't many other residents, and Edgar quickly begins to discover the hidden family mystery of the elderly Elizabeth Eastlake, who owns most of the island's houses. In his new rental home, Edgar begins to experiment with drawing and painting, sometimes in a frenzied manner, as if controlled by some outside source. As Edgar's artwork begins to bloom, the haunted mysteries of Elizabeth's past unfold. While not alike in plot, this book has a feel of such books as Bag of Bones and the more recent Lisey's Story and is essential for any popular fiction or King collection. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 9/1/07.]—Carolann Curry, Macon, GA

Celtic magic mixed with early Christianity weaves through this retelling of the life of the legendary, power-mad Scottish queen. All the elements of Shakespeare's famous play are present: the betrayals, the magic, the medieval setting, and the bloody rise of Macbeth from lord to king through murder. But King in her hardcover debut draws on the historical record and research done by the great historical novelist Dorothy Dunnett for King Hereafter to rework the familiar story from the viewpoint of Macbeth's lady, whose name according to an 11th-century document was Gruadh. She was of Scots royal blood, and thus it can be gathered, and as King retells it, that she was from an early age a pawn for power. The author has published as Susan King and Sarah Gabriel. Recommended for historical fiction collections.—Mary Kay Bird-Guilliams, Wichita P.L., KS

At age 28, Londoner Pippa Dunn is flogging along, suffering a job beneath her talents, failed personal relationships, and her dull and predictable parents and sister. Then her life is struck by a boomerang when she searches out her birth parents, who turn out to be Americans, Southerners, outgoing, gregarious, and attractive. Billie, Pippa's birth mother, an art promoter of sorts, is utterly self-obsessed and wants her daughter as a mirror image. While charismatic, her birth father, Walt, is involved in somewhat dubious business affairs. Deceptively simple in framework, the novel successfully veers between poignancy and outrageous humor, with Larkin having great fun with English and American cultures as Pippa navigates her way through the culture clashes and extended families to recognize her unique, quirky self. Larkin, who was born in the United States and adopted at birth by British parents, has a successful one-woman comic show called The English American, which has played to acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic; this first novel is a more fictionalized account of that show. The author's coverage of adoptee rights makes it an especially timely addition to public libraries.—Mary Margaret Benson, Linfield Coll. Lib., McMinnville, OR

On the first day of class, the students of Winchester University's Logic and Reasoning course are stymied by their assignment. Their enigmatic instructor, Professor Williams, gives them six weeks to solve the hypothetical murder of a townie named Polly. He prompts them to use rational thinking to figure out strange, sometimes rather bizarre clues. But as the days go by, some students become convinced that the assignment is not simply a logic exercise meant to sharpen their reasoning skills, but that the clues the professor feeds them are real. If they don't solve his mystery, will an actual girl die? As random students and faculty members start to crop up in his clues, two students become obsessed with Williams and are determined to save Polly at almost any cost. First-time novelist Lavender has a knack for creepy characters and red herrings, but readers looking for more mainstream suspense may find that the intriguing premise gets slowed down by a lack of pacing and too many literary references to Paul Auster's City of Glass. For larger suspense collections.—Rebecca Vnuk, Glen Ellyn P.L., Forest Park, IL

Lazar's second novel (after Aaron, Approximately) fictionalizes the 1960s, the Rolling Stones, Charles Manson, and Kenneth Anger, successfully capturing both the emotional and the emotionless, including a disturbingly stoic Manson before a murder and the confused, bipolar Rolling Stones on the rise—and sometimes on the run. The story shifts among the stories, linked by filmmaker Anger and actor Bobby Beausoleil, the latter of whom eventually joined the Manson family after acting in Anger's first film; considerable attention is paid to the Stones' internal conflicts, leading to the death of Brian Jones and the band's subsequent success. Although the story is a creative remaking of the 1960s, there is nothing particularly striking about the plotline because we know the end. The story seems like any other Stones biography placed side by side with Kenneth Anger and Charles Manson as a comparative device to bring out the horror. Yet this is also a compliment to Lazar, who's able to make his work seem like nonfiction, encapsulating the aura of the times in much the way that a film captures the essence of real characters. Recommended for large public libraries. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 9/15/07.]—Stephen Morrow, Athens, OH

Jamie Gabriel lives in a community where boys still have paper routes; that is, until he and his bike vanish while delivering papers early one morning. His parents, Paul and Carol, report his disappearance to the police, but after a brief search leads nowhere, the authorities move on to other cases. More than a year later, on the advice of one of the deputies, the parents hire private investigator and former cop Frank Behr. Behr brings some baggage to the table; he's divorced, and his son is dead. While he empathizes with the tragedy of not knowing what happened to Jamie, he is hesitant to take the case, warning that closure will undoubtedly be ugly. Tormented by the strain of having a missing child, Paul and Carol each try to cope in their own way, and their marriage suffers for it. Eventually, Paul starts working with Behr, and despite the cold trail, their quest leads them to some very troubling answers and a somewhat predictable ending. Nevertheless, in his fiction debut screenwriter Levien (who cowrote Ocean's Thirteen, Runaway Jury, and Rounders) captures the hopelessness of the situation well, the pacing is relentless, and the story gripping and altogether disturbing. Highly recommended for all fiction collections. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 11/1/07.]—Stacy Alesi, Boca Raton, FL

The monster of the title, known only as "K," is an amalgam of Hollywood clichés: shaggy fur, antennae, feathers, scales, butterfly wings. He lives on an island of nuclear-test mutants, worshipped by the natives and relatively at peace, until he falls afoul of a central-casting blonde and her lantern-jawed beau in a scene from the outtakes of King Kong. It's not long before he's trussed up and carried across the ocean to be exhibited on tour for the masses. What makes this story interesting, though, is where it departs from formula. Betty (the blonde) and Johnny (the beau) have a relationship nearly as twisted as K's features. Billy, their friend and K's impresario, has a thing for money that goes far beyond mere greed. Each of the five years the novel spans is introduced with a montage of world events, focusing on the questionable foreign policies of Western leaders. Clearly, Maine (The Preservationist) intends us to ask whether the vegetarian K is the real monster. Recommended for most fiction collections.—Karl G. Siewert, Tulsa City-Cty. Lib., OK

A young author of note, Mansbach (Angry Black White Boy) takes on three generations of the Brodsky family in this epic of American life from the mid-1930s to the end of the 1990s. Tristan Brodsky, who grows up playing stickball in the Jewish Bronx, is constantly at odds with his family. At Queens College, he comes under the influence of a literature professor and is thrown into the world of black jazz musicians. Eventually, Tristan becomes a writer—his first book, The Angel of the Shtetel, portrays his atheist anger about the woes of immigrant life and the sad plight of the Jews—and he strongly influences American culture. His wife, a poet with a different agenda, tends to his needs. Their grandson Tris, aka RISK, a revolutionary, graffiti writer, and hip-hop aficionado, follows in his grandfather's footsteps and becomes a writer, but the angst he expresses reflects the end of the 20th century. Tris also hooks up with Nina Hricek, a teenage Czech refugee and photographer who has come to America with a black jazz band. Thus, all three characters have connections with black musicians, dreams that are unfulfilled, and a dollop of Jewish self-hatred. A well-written novel but with an overly interwoven plot.—Molly Abramowitz, Silver Spring, MD

Raimund Gregorius, a Swiss professor of classical languages, is crossing a rainy bridge in Bern when a mysterious woman writes a phone number on his forehead and utters a single word in Portuguese. Later that day, he wanders into a bookstore and finds himself drawn to a Portuguese book titled A Goldsmith of Words, self-published in Lisbon 30 years earlier. These unexplained and seemingly unrelated events conspire to tear myopic bookworm Gregorius out of his solitary and unvarying existence and send him to Lisbon in search of both the woman and Amadeu de Prado, the book's (fictional) author. This third novel by the pseudonymous Mercier caused a sensation in Europe and spent 140 weeks on the German best-sellers lists, feats unlikely to be duplicated in the United States because of the book's slow pacing. Patient readers will be rewarded, however, by the involving, unpredictable, and well-constructed plot and Mercier's virtuosic orchestration of a large and memorable cast of characters. As the stories of Gregorius and de Prado draw together, this becomes a moving meditation on the defining moments in our lives, the "silent explosions that change everything." Recommended for all fiction collections.—Forest Turner, Suffolk Cty. House of Correction Lib., Boston

Meri, short for Meribeth, is going through some major changes: she just got married, moved to another state, and bought a new home. When she and her husband, Nathan, move into their New England townhouse, they learn that their neighbor, Delia Naughton, is the wife of the vaunted Sen. Tom Naughton. Delia is at the other end of the spectrum from Meri: her children are grown, and, for her, life is slowing down. Yet the two women hit it off and quickly become friends. Having their first child together teaches Meri and Nathan the nuances of married life; Meri, meanwhile, uncovers the mysteries of Delia and Tom's relationship. An intervening tragedy then causes a savage rift between Meri and Delia. Miller (The Good Mother) has written an extremely powerful novel of women, marriage, and friendship. The characters are fascinating, the story engrossing, and the novel incredibly readable. Highly recommended for all collections. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 9/1/07.]—Robin Nesbitt, Columbus Metropolitan Lib., OH

T. has always accumulated wealth. As a child, it was through paper routes and bogus charity drives; as a college student, it was through stock-market investments; and as an adult, it is by buying land and developing planned communities. He has never let anyone close enough to derail him from his commitment to accumulate. But the vagaries of love unhinge him: his mother's mental degeneration and subsequent indifference to him, the feelings he has for a dog he rescues from the pound, the love-at-first-sight experience with a woman he meets at a party, and the grief at her sudden loss—all these things affect T. in a powerful and bizarre way. He becomes obsessed with endangered species and routinely breaks into zoos at night to sleep in wolves' and elephants' paddocks. Award-winning author Millet's (Oh Pure and Radiant Heart) story culminates with T. tracking an endangered jaguar and coming face to face with the essence of his own being. With wry, brilliant dialog and insightful existential musings, Millet delves deep into the meaning of humanity's destructive connection to nature and the consequences of the extinction of both animals and love. Absorbing and not to be missed; highly recommended.—Joy Humphrey, Pepperdine Law Lib., Malibu, CA

Paddy Meehan (Dead Hour) is one of the most fascinating female characters in contemporary crime fiction. A foul-mouthed, hot-headed, fiercely loyal, and perennially overweight 27 year old, Paddy gives as good as she gets in the rough-and-tumble, mostly male world of Glasgow journalism. As Mina's new thriller opens, things are looking pretty good for Paddy. She writes a popular weekly column for the Daily News. With her five-year-old son, Peter, she has finally moved out of her family home into an apartment with her friend Dub McKenzie. Then police come to her door to tell her that her ex-boyfriend, Terry Hewitt, has been murdered. Terry's killing looks like an IRA hit, but the IRA denies responsibility. As Paddy begins to investigate, she discovers a secret that might put her and her loved ones in danger. Secondary threads having to do with friends and family threaten at times to upstage the main plotline, but the whole novel is so engrossing that it hardly matters. Highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 10/15/07.]—Jane la Plante, Minot State Univ., ND

Ní Aonghusa focuses on the relationships among three residents of Ballindoon, a small Sligo parish: recently divorced Ellen, her uncle Matt, and Beatrice, a widow. All struggle to cope with confounding changes in their lives. Ellen leaves her native Dublin in an attempt to relive cherished childhood summers spent in the village. Yet her reappearance among the locals inspires gossip and compromises her budding romance with a younger man. Matt and Beatrice, both of whom are trying to recover from personal tragedies, show Ellen how suffering fosters resilience and the hope necessary to begin anew, even within the narrow social and emotional confines of Ballindoon. The result is a stirring, unsentimental love story set in an Ireland undergoing significant social change. The author's ear for dialog is pitch-perfect, and her characters are complex and often flawed, underscoring their authenticity. Readers of modern Irish novelists, such as Maeve Binchy and Colm Tóibín, will find much to admire in this masterly debut novel from an award-winning poet and short story writer.—J.G. Matthews, Washington State Univ. Libs., Pullman

The personal physician of U.S. President Andrew Stoddard has disappeared, and as a temporary replacement Stoddard calls on Naval Academy classmate and old friend Gabe Singleton, who reluctantly accepts and leaves his Wyoming practice for what he hopes will be only a brief period. Arriving in Washington, Singleton quickly sinks deep into both politics and the realization that all is not right with the President's mental health. Gabe's investigation leads him into a maelstrom of suspicion involving a Secret Service agent, a nurse in the White House medical office, and presidential appointees and family members. Gabe has demons from his own past to overcome as well. Palmer's latest medical thriller (after The Fifth Vial) adds presidential politics and nanotechnology to his usual mix and comes up with a story that may not always be believable but keeps the reader turning pages anyway. Purchase where Palmer and such medical thrillers are popular. [A 250,000-copy first printing.—Ed.]—A.J. Wright, Anesthesiology Lib., Univ. of Alabama at Birmingham

Often called a master of the literary thriller for works like The Club Dumas, Pérez-Reverte is much more than that, and his talent has never been on better display than it is here. The author draws on his experience as a war journalist to craft a ruthlessly examined tale of moral responsibility. Former war photographer Andrew Faulques is holed up in a tower, where he's painting a mural displaying the human experience of war as filtered through the great war paintings. Then a stranger arrives and calmly announces his plans to kill Faulques; having been immortalized in one of Faulques's images as the face of Croatian resistance during the recent Balkan wars ultimately destroyed this man's life. As Faulques cautiously unfolds his story to his would-be assailant, we're brought uncomfortably close to human violence and questions of both culpability and sheer human evil, summed up tersely in one scene of Faulques lying in wait with a sniper to photograph his work. Faulques rigidly adheres to the notion of a universe run mechanically by rules beyond our control (as he tells Olvido, his lover and colleague, killed on the job), and the narrative's tension derives partly from wondering whether Faulques will ultimately retain these beliefs. With extraordinary imagery; highly recommended. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 9/1/07.]—Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal

Tokyo-born Revoyr's third novel (after the award-winning Southland) tells a deceptively simple story about the first days of Hollywood. Through the unfolding recollections of Jun Nakayama, a Japanese immigrant—turned—A-list actor, it zooms in on the sexism and anti-Asian bigotry of the early 20th century. It is 1964, and a zealous reporter tracks down the now-retired 73-year-old Nakayama for an article he's writing. At first, Nakayama is reluctant to be interviewed, but he ultimately can't resist the spotlight. Still, considering that his acting career ended in 1922, he finds the journalist's interest baffling. As they talk, the writer's queries send Nakayama on a quest that uncovers long-buried secrets. The unsolved murder of his favorite director, coupled with sexual peccadilloes, police payoffs, and massive cover-ups, are woven into a tale showcasing human foibles and heroism. In the end, Nakayama discovers what it means to take personal responsibility and stand up for what's right. Fast-moving, riveting, unpredictable, and profound; highly recommended for all fiction collections.—Eleanor J. Bader, Brooklyn

Prestigious Beet College is about to close. Its endowment has mysteriously disappeared, leaving it with only tuition to support its programs. In the 1990s, Beet added trendy disciplines such as Native American crafts and casino studies, yet students are dissatisfied. Faculty can't do or say anything without offending someone. The chairman of the Board of Trustees wants the land on which the college sits for his real estate empire. Professor Peace Porterfield, the last ethical and imaginative teacher of English in higher education, is selected to chair a committee to revamp the college's curriculum, with two months to accomplish this task. Meanwhile, students go about their business: attending classes, joining protests, building bombs, and hacking computer systems. In a frenzy of plots and subplots, all working at cross-purposes, the truth surfaces, the endowment is recovered, and liberal arts education lives on. In his second novel, Rosenblatt (after Lapham Rising) creates a satire about higher education that would be hilarious if it didn't come quite so close to the truth. The essence of college life taken to the extreme will make readers laugh out loud. Recommended.—Joanna M. Burkhardt, Univ. of Rhode Island Coll. of Continuing Education Lib., Providence

Russell's (A Thread of Grace) fourth novel, her second work of historical fiction, focuses on the years immediately following World War I. When narrator Agnes Shanklin, an Ohio schoolteacher, finds herself at 40 the sole surviving member of her family, she decides to take a trip to Egypt and the Middle East, where her beloved missionary sister once lived and worked. There, she is thrilled to be swept up into the company of several renowned statesmen, diplomats, and spies attending the 1921 Cairo Peace Conference. But she is disconcerted to learn that a man with whom she's become romantically involved may be using her to obtain inside political information. Listening for the first time to her own inner needs and wants, Agnes grows into an independent and far-thinking woman. Russell labors to provide insight into how the fate of the Middle East, including the entities of Iraq, Palestine, and Jordan, was drawn up at the time. While this aspect of the novel can sometimes be hard-going, she manages to make the characters, both real and imaginary, consistently captivating. Recommended for larger public and academic libraries' fiction collections. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 11/1/07.]—Maureen Neville, Trenton P.L.

Transpiring during a week in September 1967, this fourth major novel by Sáenz focuses on the confluence of two symbiotic events in the Espejo family: the death of Grandmother Rosario and her 18-year-old grandson's receipt of a U.S. Army induction notice. Sáenz creatively and effectively weaves these stories together using several alternating threads: all five members of the Espejo family plus two Vietnam soldiers narrate their respective stories. Though the grandson, Gustavo, eventually emerges as the lead character as he struggles over whether to obey the draft orders, the other characters battle their own private wars, such as rape and marital discord. Like his 2005 In Perfect Light, this novel transcends its setting—El Paso's Hispanic community—and will appeal to a much wider readership. Sáenz's innate understanding and vivid description of the nation's angst at the time over the Vietnam War is commendable; it is perhaps no accident that the book's publication date coincides with the 40th anniversary of the Tet Offensive. Well written, moving, and highly interesting, this is Sáenz's best work yet. Highly recommended, especially for public libraries.—Lawrence Olszewski, OCLC Lib., Dublin, OH

What do you think would happen if an emotionally dysfunctional bull rider chased two French women back to Paris because they stole his championship belt buckle? Do you suppose anyone would believe his story? Do you suppose he'd get mixed up with supercilious Gallic economic snob terrorists or be recruited by an unlikely CIA cab driver with an obsession for turquoise? You think he might wind up in a brothel or be defenestrated at least once? Do you think he might conquer some of his own phobias and help save France for good old American capitalism? Take a cowboy's tour of the City of Light with Rowdy Talbot and find out. You just might learn some self-evident truths such as "Never make assumptions about foreign women." You might split your gut laughing, too. Sandlin has written seven other novels, including Jimi Hendrex Turns Eighty), and if there's one thing you can expect from a Sandlin novel, it's a homely observation on every page, and some of those are bound to make you grin till your cheeks hurt. Highly recommended for all fiction collections where cowboy humor is appreciated. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 9/1/07.]—Ken St. Andre, Phoenix P.L.

It's great to be back with the all-female law firm of Rosato & Associates, especially when Mary DiNunzio takes center stage (after a four-book hiatus). Mary is young and sharp as a tack yet somehow exudes an Old World charm despite dealing with impending wars between the Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin fan clubs, high school "Mean Girls" all grown up, or the mob. She's bringing home the bacon with all the neighborhood cases she takes, so it's no surprise that former parochial school classmate and head mean girl Trish "Trash" Gambone looks to Mary for help when she fears for her life because of her abusive gangster boyfriend. But Trish isn't walking down any legal avenues to help herself, and she ends up disappearing along with her boyfriend. Mary is beside herself with worry and guilt, and the rest of the mean girl claque go into overdrive harassing her, the cops, and anyone else they think will help them find their friend. Scottoline's latest is a thoroughly enjoyable read with warm, wonderful characters, gentle humor, and some unexpected twists and turns. Highly recommended for all fiction collections. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 10/15/07.]—Stacy Alesi, Boca Raton, FL

Smith, fresh off of her triumphant debut, A Rose for the Crown, returns to the drama and intrigue of the York family in this stunning follow-up. Margaret of York, younger sister to Edward IV and elder sister to Richard III, is a powerful member of the York clan in her own right. Beautiful, witty, and intelligent, she quickly becomes a political pawn when Edward seizes the throne and is crowned king. Married off to Charles, Duke of Burgundy, Margaret blossoms in her role as an eloquent ruler of vast estates and immense wealth. In private, however, she struggles to survive the pain of her loveless marriage to a cold, temperamental brute and her vanquished youthful hopes of a fulfilling union with Edward's already married brother-in-law, Anthony Woodville. Unrequited love simmers throughout this richly detailed historical romance; Smith's vivid characters and deft handling of the passions and prejudices that so greatly influenced the events of this era in history make for a delicious read. Highly recommended for all popular fiction collections.—Leigh Wright, Bridgewater, NJ

Titillating jacket copy about journeying into the unsavory world of international sex tourism aside, this new novel by National Book Award finalist Spencer (A Ship Made of Paper) is more of a journey into the unsavory mind of Avery Jankowsky, freelance writer and average-guy narrator of the story. Half-crazy over ex-girlfriend Deirdre's infidelity and desperate to leave their shared apartment, Avery is on a round-the-world sex tour to take sneaky notes and write a tell-all book. The huge advance will net him the New York City apartment he covets, but he has to appear to be a willing (and randy) male member of his tour group while maintaining his objectivity and high-minded disdain for sex with high-class whores. Also still clinging to the moral high ground with Deirdre, refusing to see where things went wrong, Avery presents a face as false as the names of the women he meets in hotel rooms across Scandinavia. Packing a one-two punch of ruthless self-examination and tragicomic farce, this short novel is recommended for most fiction collections.—Laurie A. Cavanaugh, Brockton P.L., MA.

For those who, if they think of it at all, think of Australia as a bloated island full of Tasmanian devils, baby-devouring dingoes, and convicts, with an iconic opera house thrown in, this eagerly awaited Australian debut novel comes as further confirmation. Here the focus is the dysfunctional Dean family, which boasts the notorious Terry Dean, bank robber, cop killer, and bona fide Australian legend. Under his large and imposing shadow, his brother and his brother's son, Jasper, have both withered into reclusive, crotchety curmudgeons with more than their fair share of eccentric opinions, and Jasper is in rebellion against not only his uncle but his father as well. This is one Oedipus story told, though, with lots of snap and crackle, as well as pop. While there are no new stories, even Down Under, Jasper's progression reads like the trajectory of a gleefully crazed Roman candle across the southern skies in this sprawling, entertaining, decidedly quirky, and at times laugh-out-loud-funny romp reminiscent of John Irving's family sagas or Brocke Clarke's An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England. Recommended for all public libraries.—Bob Lunn, Kansas City P.L., MO

Willful Jewish girl Karimah HaCohen al-Tustari flees her home in Cairo, Egypt, to run off with her lover. Complicating the situation is that the year is 1031 and the love of Karimah's life is Muslim. Karimah's departure has devastated her family, and her father declares her dead. Karimah vehemently disagrees and writes to her brother that "there is a huge difference between being in love and being dead." Like generations of girls before and after her, she struggles with the restraints placed upon her by society and religion, and the novel tells of how she comes to terms with her decisions and the unconventional life that she has chosen to live. Visotzky, an educator, rabbi, and author of nine nonfiction books, devoted over two years of scholarly research to the preparation of this debut novel and it shows. Using the Cairo Geniza (an actual storage room where Jews deposited everything written in Hebrew), Visotzky poignantly re-creates a time period in which adventurers, scholars, Jews, and Muslims lived together in relative harmony. Includes in-depth notes on sources and glossary; for Jewish fiction and larger historical fiction collections.—Marika Zemke, Commerce Twp. Community Lib., MI

Wounded in Iraq, Charles Acland is evacuated to London to begin a painful recovery, made worse by disfigurement, paranoia, and a desire to avoid any assistance—especially from his family and former fiancée. Though he is physically tough, Charles's mental state is less stable; he scares himself and others with bouts of rage. Charles does his best to alienate his caregivers but is forced to accept help when his aggressiveness leads to a run-in with the police, who are trying to solve a series of brutal murders. His best hopes are a butch lesbian doctor, who thinks she is a good judge of character, and a not unsympathetic detective. Walters (The Devil's Feather) is an award-winning master of suspense, and she once again keeps things taut as Charles tries to figure out what is wrong with him and why forces seem to be driving him to more violence. Charles's suspicions spread to the reader, who soon wonders if anyone is as he or she seems in this solid thriller. Strongly recommended for all fiction collections. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 9/1/07.]—Devon Thomas, DevIndexing, Chelsea, MI

One Saturday morning, Jamaican shopkeeper Baps dies. He watches in horror as his maid and gardener empty the money from his pockets and then discovers that he has to catch a minibus. The bus takes him to a culvert, and when he crawls through, he is in Heaven. Heaven is not what you think, however; in fact, it is a lot like the Jamaica he just left except that you get whatever you want. Soon he meets a woman who runs a shop, and they spend the afternoon having sex. Helping to run the shop, Baps is disturbed to find that they don't charge for merchandise in Heaven and decides to set some prices; people have no problem paying because there is a money tree out back. Finally, Baps meets God and takes a trip to American Heaven, which is quite different from Jamaican Heaven; the people there are upset that there is no hell and have been after God to create one. Winkler (The Lunatic) uses a Jamaican accent to turn Dante's Paradiso on its head. Although there is not much depth here, the comic and philosophical narrative is stimulating, and the critique of religion is brought to a clever and positive resolution. Recommended.—Joshua Cohen, Mid-Hudson Lib. Syst., Poughkeepsie, NY

Burt Hecker lives in 1256 C.E. At least, that's what he tells the police who arrest him in upstate New York on a DWI. Actually, most of Wodicka's first novel takes place in 1998, but Burt, wearing tunic and sandals and participating in the Confraternity of Times Lost Regained (CTLR), a group of historical reenactors, has been inhabiting the past for much of his 63 years. His wife, Kitty, didn't seem to mind, though, and ran the Mansion Inn B&B without his help. But now Kitty is dead; their son, Tristan, is in Europe and no longer performs Burt's beloved medieval music; and their daughter, June, won't speak to Burt from her home in California. Burt, it seems, has landed in the historical soup. He sells the inn and travels to Europe (his first time ever on an airplane) in hopes of reconciling with his 22-year-old son, thought to be living with Kitty's mother, Anna Bibko. A bit of a fossil herself, Anna has sought worldwide acknowledgment of the genocide of her Lemko people immediately following World War II. Anna hates Burt; Burt hates Anna. Immersing oneself in the past has no value if one is unwilling to learn from it. This dysfunctional family will bring the reader to tears, from frustration as much as from sorrow; however well crafted, the story line won't satisfy anyone looking for answers. Recommended for literary fiction collections. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 10/1/07.]—Bette-Lee Fox, Library Journal

Woodward's darkly comic first novel is situated in the fictional town of Johnsonville, FL, and centers on three generations of Toak men—Jesmond, who repossesses rental property for a living; Jesmond's father, Feddy, who works in shipping at the Jacksonville Port Authority; and Feddy's father, Teo, a bail bondsman. The Toak men endure complicated, uneasy relationships with one another and with others alike. Jesmond loves Peaches, who is married to a violent and crazy military cop. Feddy has pledged the impossible: to deposit his friend Father Clemons's ashes in the graveyard of the prison where they met. And Teo competes with Medgar Coots, a despicable doctor, over local real estate. This densely populated debut teems with murder, suicide, killer bees, and sex in the several days leading up to the cataclysmic appearance of a category-four storm, Hurricane Aretha. Both humorous and tragic, it will leave readers breathless with anticipation for the next bold scene while relishing the book's unique craftsmanship and zany plotline. Woodward, whose short fiction has been nominated twice for a Pushcart Prize, is a gastroenterologist living in Jacksonville, FL. Recommended for large fiction collections.—Faye A. Chadwell, Oregon State Univ. Libs., Corvallis

Noted African American author Wright was working on this book shortly before his death in 1960. It is now being published for the first time by his daughter and literary executor, Julia Wright, marking the centennial of Wright's birth. Ruddy Turner is a black policeman who has just become the chief of police in an upscale Chicago suburb where there has been a string of murders. Turner is a conservative Catholic, with a devoted wife and a college-age son, Tommy, who seems disturbed and obsessed with the idea of crime. This is a psychological crime novel in which the police chief begins, with horror, to look upon his son as a possible murderer, but we never do find out if Tommy is really guilty or what happens next. While this unfinished novel adds to Wright's body of work, it will be more useful to school and college libraries for its literary merits than to the general mystery collections at most public libraries.—Leslie Patterson, Brown Univ. Lib, Providence, RI

English-language readers now have the opportunity to read award-winning Chinese author Yan's Wei Renmnin Fuwu, originally published in China in 2005 and subsequently banned. Yan records the story of Wu Dawang, a farmer turned Sergeant of the Catering Squad and General Orderly for the People's Liberation Army's Division Commander and his wife. The creed "To Serve the People" takes on new meaning for Wu Dawang when he learns that the Division Commander's much younger wife, Liu Lian, expects him upstairs whenever the household's "Serve the People" sign is moved from its usual location. Initial sightings of the stray sign begin innocently enough, but soon Liu Lian's expectations recall those of Potiphar's wife. Wu Dawang, however, is certainly no Joseph, becoming enwrapped in a torrid affair. Yan's work certainly contains its share of double entendres and may even be perceived as comedic at times, but on a deeper level, it offers a sociopolitical commentary on a way of life generally unfamiliar to Westerners. For larger public and academic library collections.—Shirley N. Quan, Orange Cty. P.L., Santa Ana, CA