STEAMPUNK ALTERNATE HISTORY and lots of action in this latest book from Mark Hodder. Entertaining stuff! SOLID B

THE SECRET OF ABDU EL YEZDI (BURTON AND SWINBURNE SERIES #4)
Prometheus Books
2013

FASCINATING MEMOIR FOLLOWS a daughter’s exploration of her mother’s self-reinvention after a brutal childhood. B PLUS

SHE LEFT ME THE GUN : MY MOTHER’S LIFE BEFORE ME
Penguin Press
2013

VIDEO GAMES AS LIFE, life as a video game, in this coming-of-age story about four friends in the industry. B PLUS

YOU
Little, Brown & Company
2013

THE SPELLMAN FAMILY RETURNS, as lovingly dysfunctional as ever, putting their private-eye prowess to work. B PLUS

SPELLMAN NOVELS #06: THE LAST WORD
Simon & Schuster
2013

A MOTHER AND SON SHARE their experiences of alcoholism, and of two different paths to sobriety. Candid, smart. B PLUS

DOUBLE DOUBLE
Scribner
2013

A GRIM JUNKIE APOCALYPSE finds a handful of meth-heads battling zombies. Gritty twist on a familiar theme. SOLID B

FIEND: A NOVEL
Crown Publishing Group
2013

THE SMARTEST BOOK OF 2013 is this brilliant memoir from music’s Questlove (Ahmir Thompson). Full stop. SOLID A

MO’ META BLUES: THE WORLD ACCORDING TO QUESTLOVE
Grand Central Publishing
2013

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS—A HISTORY, a love letter, a sociological analysis—all from a devotee’s point of view. SOLID B

OF DICE AND MEN: THE STORY OF DUNGEONS & DRAGONS AND THE PEOPLE WHO PLAY IT
Scribner
2013

BEES, MURDER, TECHNOLOGY, and secrets lie at the heart of this sophisticated Italian mystery. Elegant thrills! B PLUS

THE SUDDEN DISAPPEARANCE OF THE WORKER BEES
Arcade Publishing
2013

FIERCE, FUNNY MEMOIR from a solo farmer and single mom, sharply alive with the spirit of rural Michigan. SOLID B

BOOTSTRAPPER
Knopf
2013