FAST-PACED MYSTERY is one of the best ever Sherlock Holmes pastiches AND one of the best Jack the Ripper stories. B PLUS

DUST AND SHADOW: AN ACCOUNT OF THE RIPPER KILLINGS BY DR. JOHN H. WATSON
Simon & Schuster
2009

INTERESTING LOOK by Sherry Turkle and other MIT social scientists at the impact of computer simulation on design. SOLID B

SIMULATION AND ITS DISCONTENTS (SIMPLICITY: DESIGN, TECHNOLOGY, BUSINESS, LIFE)
The MIT Press
2009

FUNNY, ACTION-PACKED FANTASY CAPER about a convenience store cashier turned monster-hunter. Good times. A MINUS #beachread

MONSTER
Orbit
2009

IMPRESSIVELY RESEARCHED, if a bit dry, bio of the Sundance Kid sheds light on 19th-century West, outlaw culture. SOLID B

THE SUNDANCE KID: THE LIFE OF HARRY ALONZO LONGABAUGH
University of Oklahoma Press
2009

RACY 1920s ARISTOCRAT SLEUTH Phryne Fisher returns in a very bohemian mystery. Period cozy with a bit of sizzle. SOLID B

MURDER IN THE DARK (PHRYNE FISHER SERIES #16)
Poisoned Pen Press
2009

QUIRKY, HILARIOUS, SWEET novel about brotherhood and love and hobby magazines. Big-hearted guy lit. A MINUS #beachread

THE ENTHUSIAST: A NOVEL (P.S.)
Harper Perennial
2009

ENGAGING MEMOIR by boho punk-rock former stripper married to US Army officer works best when personal. SOLID B #beachread

I LOVE A MAN IN UNIFORM: A MEMOIR OF LOVE, WAR, AND OTHER BATTLES
Weinstein Books
2009

MORE WELL-WRITTEN SHERLOCK HOLMES stories from Donald Thomas; historical detail, Doyle-worthy characterization. SOLID B

SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE KING’S EVIL: AND OTHER NEW TALES FEATURING THE WORLD’S GREATEST DETECTIVE
Pegasus
2009

HISTORY, MEMOIR BLEND APPEALINGLY in this look at Polynesian/Western relations by an American married to a Maori. B PLUS

COME ON SHORE AND WE WILL KILL AND EAT YOU ALL: A NEW ZEALAND STORY
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
2008

SEAMY, SORDID, BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN 1930s noir from Megan Abbott. Fact-based plot pinches a bit, but wow. A MINUS #beachread

BURY ME DEEP: A NOVEL
Simon & Schuster
2009