PARISIAN DETECTIVE Aimee Leduc’s 9th and best adventure is a headlong mystery involving science, Haitian politics. B PLUS

MURDER IN THE LATIN QUARTER (AIMEE LEDUC SERIES #9)
Soho Press, Incorporated
2009

ENGAGING TRUE STORY of the bonanza-and-bust madness of the Comstock Lode silver strike, its impact on US history. B PLUS

MILE-HIGH FEVER: SILVER MINES, BOOM TOWNS, AND HIGH LIVING ON THE COMSTOCK LODE
St. Martin’s Press
2009

PASTRY CHEF’S MEMOIR stands out among a crowded field for its humor, literate eloquence, riot-grrrl sensibility. B PLUS

SPICED: A PASTRY CHEF’S TRUE STORIES OF TRIALS BY FIRE, AFTER-HOURS EXPLOITS, AND WHAT REALLY GOES ON IN THE KITCHEN
Putnam Adult
2009

SNARKY, FUNNY gastronomic tour of the world with a Londoner (of Welsh/Bengali descent) who eats on 6 continents. B PLUS

EAT MY GLOBE: ONE YEAR TO GO EVERYWHERE AND EAT EVERYTHING
Free Press
2009

H.P. LOVECRAFT’S EERIE VISION lives on in this beautifully curated collection of new Lovecraft-inspired stories. A MINUS

LOVECRAFT UNBOUND
Dark Horse Comics
2009

MEDICAL THRILLER shines when it offers insider detail, grates with over-the-top plot and soap-opera characters. B MINUS

THE SECOND OPINION
St. Martin’s Press
2009

BRIEF, ELOQUENT, REMARKABLE memoir by 91-year-old UK publishing legend Diana Athill. Run, do not walk, to get it! SOLID A

SOMEWHERE TOWARDS THE END: A MEMOIR
Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
2009

FAST-PACED REAL ESTATE WHODUNNIT, third outing for a pair of salty LA detectives, offers memorable characters. B PLUS

FLIPPING OUT: A LOMAX & BIGGS MYSTERY (LOMAX & BIGGS MYSTERIES)
Minotaur Books
2009

INSIDER LOOK AT US THOROUGHBRED horse racing and breeding from a journalist turned horseman. Eye-opening read. SOLID B

HEADLESS HORSEMEN: A TALE OF CHEMICAL COLTS, SUBPRIME SALES AGENTS, AND THE LAST KENTUCKY DERBY ON STEROIDS
Holt, Henry & Company, Inc.
2009

WARM-HEARTED, BREEZY novel bridges chick lit, women’s fic in this tale of a Latina mother and daughter at odds. B PLUS

DAMAS, DRAMAS, AND ANA RUIZ (QUINCEANERA CLUB)
Grand Central Publishing
2009