SCIENCE AND STORYTELLING COMBINE in an engrossing account of a massive 1783 volcanic eruption in Iceland. B PLUS

ISLAND ON FIRE
Pegasus Books
2015

A SCIENTIST TURNED MERCENARY and her bounty hunter lover, drawn into a mysterious interstellar quest. Wow! B PLUS

MOTHER OUTLAW
self-published
2014

LOVE AND MURDER IN 1890s Memphis: a scandalous crime of passion between two young women. Fascinating history. SOLID B

ALICE + FREDA FOREVER: A MURDER IN MEMPHIS
Pulp/Zest Books
2014

THE EXTRAVAGANT, ECCENTRIC LIFE of surrealist fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli, beautifully presented. B PLUS

ELSA SCHIAPARELLI
Knopf
2014

BACKSTAGE IN THE ROCK WORLD: a novel about a groupie turned star. Love of music shines through clunky prose. B MINUS

WHAT BECOMES A LEGEND MOST
self-published
2014

HIGH-ENERGY SUPERNATURAL THRILLER with a likable tough-guy protagonist battling demons and worse in noir NY. B PLUS

DIE AND STAY DEAD
St. Martin’s Griffin
2014

SECRETS OF AREA X finally unfold in the finale to the Southern Reach trilogy. Smart, eerie science fiction! B PLUS

ACCEPTANCE
FSG Originals
2014

CHARMING COZY MYSTERY set at an 1890s women’s college stars a spunky professor sleuth and a complex crime. B PLUS

UNSEEMLY AMBITION: A CONCORDIA WELLS MYSTERY
K.B. Owen Mysteries
2014

HAUNTING, EXTRAORDINARY NOVEL follows a young Moroccan man to Barcelona amid revolution, love, and loss. A MINUS

STREET OF THIEVES
Open Letter
2014

OBSESSIVE LOVE AND MADNESS illuminated in this heartbreaking literary novel of a Taiwanese expat in Paris. B PLUS

LAST WORDS FROM MONTMARTRE
NYRB Classics
2014