MUMBAI’S SEEDY UNDERWORLD of opium dens, bordellos is the stage for a poetic magic-realist experimental novel. SOLID B

NARCOPOLIS: A NOVEL
Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated
2012

COMPACT, GRIM THRILLER follows two young Englishmen through an adventure turned sour on the China/Burma border. B PLUS

BORDER RUN
Scribner
2012

THE FASCINATING WORLD of mushrooms and other fungi, explored in this chatty, readable book. Lots of fun! A MINUS

MYCOPHILIA
Rodale Books
2011

THE FALL OF ANNE BOLEYN, richly imagined with an unforgettable cast of characters, vivid details. Fascinating! B PLUS

BRING UP THE BODIES (A JOHN MACRAE BOOK)
Picador
2013

QUEEN OF AMISH ROMANCE Beverly Lewis’s latest has oodles of homespun charm and wisdom. Sweet as shoofly pie! SOLID B

THE FIDDLER (HOME TO HICKORY HOLLOW SERIES #1)
Baker Publishing Group
2012

POST-APOCALYPTIC PICARESQUE TALE follows survivors on a harrowing river journey through a shattered America. SOLID B

LOST EVERYTHING
Tor Books
2012

BEAUTIFULLY CRAFTED AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL novel traces a writer’s response to her father’s mental illness. B PLUS

NO ONE
Tin House Books
2012

TIGHT SPY THRILLER features lots of action, vivid China setting, but (alas!) a dull cast of characters. SOLID B

MINISTERS OF FIRE
Swallow Press
2014

SUBTLY TERRIFYING TALE peels back the surface of everyday life to reveal malevolent otherworldly beings. B PLUS

THE CRONING
Night Shade Books
2012

COMPELLING ICELANDIC MYSTERY tracks a lawyer/sleuth as she uncovers secrets long buried by a volcanic eruption. B PLUS

ASHES TO DUST (THÓRA GUDMUNDSDÓTTIR SERIES #3)
St. Martin’s Press
2012