ENGAGING SAGA of a young African American woman’s quest to learn which of three 40-somethings is her mother. B PLUS

TAKE YOUR PLEASURE WHERE YOU FIND IT
St. Martin’s Press
2010

HORROR MASTER Peter Straub’s vivid tale of a supernatural event’s five decades of impact on a group of friends. B PLUS

A DARK MATTER
Doubleday
2010

SILLY, ENTERTAINING “weird news” compilation of stories about people who blamed their rash actions on God. B PLUS

GOD MADE ME DO IT: TRUE STORIES OF THE WORST ADVICE THE LORD HAS EVER GIVEN HIS FOLLOWERS
Sourcebooks, Incorporated
2010

TIGHTLY PLOTTED COZY, fifth in the Dixie Hemingway pet-sitter series, has memorable human and animal characters! B PLUS

RAINING CAT SITTERS AND DOGS: A DIXIE HEMINGWAY MYSTERY
Minotaur Books
2010

LOVELY, MEDITATIVE essays from a writer observing four decades of wilderness, humans and other animals in Maine. B PLUS

SETTLED IN THE WILD: NOTES FROM THE EDGE OF TOWN
Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
2010

WELL-CRAFTED comedy of manners from Nicholas Coleridge has some wry twists, zingers, but breaks no new ground. SOLID B

PRIDE AND AVARICE
Thomas Dunne Books
2010

NUANCED, THOUGHTFUL memoir by a child psychiatrist traces the impact of her mother’s suicide on her family. B PLUS

IN HER WAKE: A CHILD PSYCHIATRIST EXPLORES THE MYSTERY OF HER MOTHER’S SUICIDE
Basic Books
2009

RICHLY IMAGINED, disturbing South Korean bestseller about a chef’s culinary passions and her romantic obsession. B PLUS

TONGUE
Bloomsbury USA
2009

DELICATE, COMPLICATED, and surprisingly funny novel about an artist coming to terms with her husband’s suicide. B PLUS

HAPPY NOW?
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
2010

COMPLEX THRILLER, third in a series, brings together forensic science and Irish legend in a compelling mystery. B PLUS

FALSE MERMAID
Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group
2010