WILD, ACTION-PACKED ADVENTURE set in a “Steamfunk” universe where Harriet Tubman is a superhero. Fun SF/F! SOLID B

MOSES: THE CHRONICLES OF HARRIET TUBMAN: FREEDONIA
Roaring Lions Productions
2015

THOUGHTFUL, SWEET NOVEL about friendship between two women, one in her twenties and one in her eighties. B PLUS

BRONTE PLOT
THOMAS NELSON PUBLISHERS
2015

THE SEX LIVES OF MARINE animals, entertainingly discussed by a marine conservation ecologist. Racy stuff! B PLUS

SEX IN THE SEA : OUR INTIMATE CONNECTION WITH SEX-CHANGING FISH, ROMANTIC LOBSTERS, KINKY SQUID, AND OTHER SALTY EROTICA OF THE DEEP
St. Martin’s Press
2016

JUICY CHICAGO MYSTERY with an appealing teacher-sleuth and loads of local flavor. Well-drawn characters! B PLUS

MELODY FOR MURDER
Pen-L Publishing
2015

THE INCREDIBLE FLORYNCE KENNEDY, pioneering leader in both the Black Power and Women’s Liberation movements. A MINUS

FLORYNCE “FLO” KENNEDY
University of North Carolina Press
2015

A LOVE LETTER TO CERVANTES from writer Ilan Stavans explores the complexity and impact of DON QUIXOTE. B PLUS

QUIXOTE
W. W. Norton & Company
2015

JAZZ AGE HARLEM and its cultural Renaissance are the backdrop to a gritty historical mystery. Vivid scenes. SOLID B

THE STRANGE CRIMES OF LITTLE AFRICA
Rothco Press
2015

A MAN DISPLAYED AT A ZOO: how early 20th century racism, colonialism, and pseudoscience destroyed a life. B PLUS

SPECTACLE
Amistad Press
2015

SLEEK, SPOOKY THRILLER with a San Francisco setting and a complicated, troubled protagonist. Haunting! B PLUS

THE POISON ARTIST
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
2016

SHOCKING TRUE STORY of the abusive cult behind a prominent 1970s Christian rock group. Thoughtful journalism. B PLUS

FORTNEY ROAD: LIFE, DEATH, AND DECEPTION IN A CHRISTIAN CULT
Freethought House
2015