A TEHRAN BUS DRIVERS’ STRIKE lands a man in solitary confinement. Beautiful, thoughtful novel captures decades of turmoil in Iran through the eyes of an idiosyncratic protagonist. B PLUS

THEN THE FISH SWALLOWED HIM
HarperVia
2020

TIME TRAVEL TO NEANDERTHAL days? High-concept science fiction with lots of action and a strong evocation of both the near future and wildly distant past. B PLUS

OBSOLETE THEOREM (ACROSS HORIZONS BOOK 1)
Stan C. Smith
2020

MAGIC VS. NAZIS: a secret Resistance with the power to command demons battles Hitler and his supernatural allies. Sharp, action-packed fantasy. A MINUS

CREATURES OF CHARM AND HUNGER (THE DIABOLIST’S LIBRARY #3)
Mariner Books
2020

A GROUP OF MYSTERIOUS CHILDREN descend on a provincial city in Argentina, and everything about life there becomes unmoored. Haunting parable with a deep, sad love at its heart. B PLUS

A LUMINOUS REPUBLIC
Mariner Books
2020

TELEPORTATION IS NOW AN EVERYDAY thing, but it hasn’t brought about utopia at all. A group of angry teens risk everything to uncover a megacorp’s terrible secrets. Great characters, great thriller, don’t miss it! A MINUS

POINT B (A TELEPORTATION LOVE STORY)
Drew Magary
2020

TWO SOUTH ASIAN WOMEN ARTISTS navigate friendship, social media, and the quest for fame. Wickedly sharp portrayal of the Toronto arts scene, heartbreaking evocation of missed human connections. B PLUS

THE SUBTWEET
ECW Press
2020

THE WAVE OF KIDNAPPINGS IN THE 1930s US, vividly revisited in an engaging, hard-boiled style. Shocking to see how far beyond the Lindbergh baby case this stretched. SOLID B

THE KIDNAP YEARS
Sourcebooks
2020

WITH THE AFTERLIFE IN PERIL, a ragtag team of immortals try to mend the walls of Chaos. Clever, fun fantasy adventure. B PLUS

THE LEAGUE OF UNUSUAL DENIZENS (CIRCLES IN HELL BOOK 7)
Mark Cain
2020

A MYSTERIOUS GOVERNMENT EXPERIMENT, a young Black woman in need of cash: the stage is set for a tense, brilliantly timely thriller. Outstanding. SOLID A

LAKEWOOD
Amistad
2020

HUMANS AND SWIMMING: A LOVE AFFAIR thousands of years old, beautifully explored in a captivating, solidly reported book. A MINUS

WHY WE SWIM
Algonquin Books
2020