BEHIND THE MYTHOLOGY of eccentric writer Joe Gould, historian Jill Lepore uncovers a more complicated truth. B PLUS

JOE GOULD’S TEETH
Knopf Publishing Group
2016

MARVELOUS FAUX-VICTORIAN THRILLER mashes up the Brontës and Dickens with a fierce, unconventional heroine. A MINUS

JANE STEELE
G.P. Putnam’s Sons
2016

FAST-PACED PARANORMAL THRILLER with a wicked sense of humor mixes aliens, vampires, and a surfer heroine. B PLUS

DAY FOR NIGHT
Vagabondage Press
2016

A FOOD LOVER’S MEMOIR of his celiac diagnosis, its impact on his life. Thoughtful if a bit over-impassioned. SOLID B

IN MEMORY OF BREAD
Clarkson Potter Publishers
2016

A SCANDAL IN TURIN pits neighbor against neighbor in this whip-smart satirical mystery from Amara Lakhous. A MINUS

THE PRANK OF THE GOOD LITTLE VIRGIN OF VIA ORMEA
Europa Editions
2016

UNSETTLING MISOGYNIST DYSTOPIA has strong characterization, atmosphere, but fuller worldbuilding needed. B MINUS

THE MATCHING (THE PAPER DUCHESS BOOK 2)
Bogus Caller Press
2016

DELIGHTFUL SUMMER READ stars a Gen X mom getting her groove back amid sandwich generation chaos. B PLUS #BeachReads

BY THE NUMBERS
Penguin Publishing Group
2016

INCISIVE YET LYRICAL novel captures Berlin and Chicago in the 1980s through the eyes of a gay Black writer. B PLUS

BLACK DEUTSCHLAND
Farrar
2016

SHARP ENGLISH THRILLER takes on love and loss and family and friendship with a chilling twist. Very smart. B PLUS

THE SISTER: A PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER WITH A BRILLIANT TWIST YOU WON’T SEE COMING
Bookouture
2016

TERRIFYING TEXAS MURDERS of the 1880s, brilliantly revisited by an incomparable true-crime writer. B PLUS

THE MIDNIGHT ASSASSIN
Henry Holt & Company
2016