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THE BONE MAN, by Wolf Haas

May 11, 2013

WRYLY FUNNY AUSTRIAN private-eye yarn mixes hardboiled detective tropes with a healthy shot of satire.

Grade: B PLUS

THE BONE MAN
Melville House
2013

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DR. BRINKLEY’S TOWER, by Robert Hough

May 10, 2013

A TINY MEXICAN VILLAGE is transformed by a US quack doctor’s pirate radio station. Lovely 1930s historical.

Grade: SOLID B

DR. BRINKLEY'S TOWER
Steerforth Press
2013

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ORKNEY, by Amy Sackville

May 9, 2013

DELICATE AND EVOCATIVE NOVEL tells a modern fairy tale of a professor and his elusive, beautiful young wife.

Grade: B PLUS

ORKNEY
Counterpoint
2013

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BAD PHARMA, by Ben Goldacre

May 8, 2013

“MEDICINE IS BROKEN” argues Dr. Ben Goldacre in an expose of drug testing and marketing as parts of the issue.

Grade: B PLUS

BAD PHARMA: HOW DRUG COMPANIES MISLEAD DOCTORS AND HARM PATIENTS
Faber & Faber
2013

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DEATH OF YESTERDAY, by M. C. Beaton

May 7, 2013

HIGHLAND SLEUTH EXTRAORDINAIRE Hamish Macbeth solves his most complex crime yet.  Wonderful Scottish detail!

Grade: B PLUS

DEATH OF YESTERDAY: A HAMISH MACBETH MYSTERY
Grand Central
2013

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NECESSARY EVIL, by Ian Tregillis

May 6, 2013

NAZI CYBORG WARRIORS, warlock magic, and time travel combine in this brilliant, spooky World War II thriller.

Grade: B PLUS

NECESSARY EVIL
Tor
2013

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FAREWELL, FRED VOODOO, by Amy Wilentz

May 5, 2013

IMAGES OF HAITI after the 2010 earthquake, from a US journalist trying to see past her outsider’s perspective.

Grade: B PLUS

FAREWELL, FRED VOODOO: A LETTER FROM HAITI
Simon & Schuster
2013

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DONNYBROOK, by Frank Bill

May 4, 2013

BRUTAL NO-HOPER NOIR, set against an Indiana landscape of violence and despair.  Grim, gory, haunting.

Grade: B PLUS

DONNYBROOK
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
2013

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GIVE ME EVERYTHING YOU HAVE, by James Lasdun

May 3, 2013

CANDID, UNSETTLING, ELOQUENT memoir from a writer who was the target of a former student’s obsession.

Grade: B PLUS

GIVE ME EVERYTHING YOU HAVE: ON BEING STALKED
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
2013

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THE OFFICE OF MERCY, by Ariel Djanikian

May 2, 2013

ON A POSTAPOCALYPTIC EARTH, bunker-dwelling survivors try to regiment the world around them.  Thoughtful SF.

Grade: B PLUS

THE OFFICE OF MERCY
Viking
2013

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