CANDID AND RICH IN DETAIL but lacking insight, this memoir of a young woman’s life in sex work is short on pizzazz. SOLID C

THE EDUCATION OF A VERY YOUNG MADAM
Scribner
2009

SPOOKY, MEANDERING, evocative horror-fantasy offers real chills and nightmares, but suffers from lack of focus. B MINUS

DOMINO MEN
HarperCollins Publishers
2009

SCHOLARLY YET HIGHLY READABLE look at late 19th-century European terrorism and its impact on us today. Fascinating! B PLUS

THE DYNAMITE CLUB: HOW A BOMBING IN FIN-DE-SIECLE PARIS IGNITED THE AGE OF MODERN TERROR
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
2009

CHARMING, RAMBLING, HAZY memoir by founding Saturday Night Live writer, Al Franken’s comedy partner. Crazy 70s fun. SOLID B

THIRTY-NINE YEARS OF SHORT-TERM MEMORY LOSS: THE EARLY DAYS OF SNL FROM SOMEONE WHO WAS THERE
Grove Press
2009

CHARMING MYSTERY continues Simon Brett’s witty post-cozy Fethering series; this time, it’s a death at the bookie’s. B PLUS

BLOOD AT THE BOOKIES: A FETHERING MYSTERY (FIVE STAR MYSTERY SERIES)
Five Star
2008

CRASS, BITTER, WICKEDLY WITTY novel takes on UK music business. Vivid anti-hero in pop-star freakshow. B PLUS #beachread

KILL YOUR FRIENDS (P.S. SERIES)
HarperCollins Publishers
2008

MODERNIST NOVELIST JEAN RHYS and her work explored in a scholarly bio. Well-written but badly edited–typos abound. B PLUS

THE BLUE HOUR: A LIFE OF JEAN RHYS
W. W. Norton & Company
2009

NEAR-FUTURE DYSTOPIA focuses on an isolated private school. Smart, insightful, chilling look at what could be. B PLUS

ENCLAVE
Tor Books
2009

WACKY, LIGHTHEARTED CAPER novel with a gay angle and a bit of Hollywood glitz, glam. Over-the-top fun! SOLID B #beachread

STRAIGHT LIES
Kensington
2009

CHARMING, TOUCHING funny memoir by a 20-something who found her path to cooking after a stroke. Great recipes, too! A MINUS

COOKING AND SCREAMING: FINDING MY OWN RECIPE FOR RECOVERY
Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group
2009