AN UNEXPECTED OPERA CAREER launches in midlife for a Michigan car salesman. Sharp, funny, yet warm-hearted novel about a talented, unsophisticated man finding his way in the European music world. B PLUS

OPERALAND
BookBaby
2020

AN ALIEN/HUMAN CONTACT turns into an unexpected bond against a stream of dangers. Thoughtful science fiction thriller with high-energy action. B PLUS

AXIOM'S END
St. Martin's Press
2020

HISTORY AND HATE REIMAGINED in a world where the Ku Klux Klan’s anger and violence have summoned powerful monsters, and a Black resistance fights them with African magic. Strong, evocative horror. A MINUS

RING SHOUT
Tordotcom
2020

CHARMING, TWISTY MYSTERY takes the “retired sleuth cozy” trope to the next level: marvelous characters, a satisfying plot, lovely Kentish local color. A MINUS

THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB
Pamela Dorman Books
2020

HOW FACEBOOK BUNGLED its plan to launch an ambitious cryptocurrency: well researched, witty look at a complete business disaster. B PLUS

LIBRA SHRUGGED
Independently Published
2020

CHAMPION, CELEBRITY…SPY? Intriguing biography of Alice Marble, who was definitely a tennis great and maybe also a World War II secret agent. B PLUS

THE DIVINE MISS MARBLE
Dutton
2020

UNLIKELY VAMPIRE HUNTERS—a Romanian expat and a burned-out DC cop—unite in this fusion of horror, science fiction, and police procedural. Smart and well paced thriller. B PLUS

THE ALIGNMENT
W &amp
2020

A LEADING UK FORENSIC scientist examines and debunks some of the myths surrounding crime scene investigation, drawing on his experiences as researcher and expert witness in high-profile murders. Thoughtful, precise, revealing. B PLUS

MURDER UNDER THE MICROSCOPE
Atlantic Books
2021

AN INTRICATE TAPESTRY OF A NOVEL, woven from the few facts we know of Shakespeare’s life, tells a brutally beautiful tale of love and loss. A MINUS

HAMNET
Knopf
2020

THE ASTONISHING INTELLIGENCE OF BIRDS is spotlighted in this fascinating story of the latest findings from researchers and observers around the world. Richly detailed and completely engrossing. A MINUS

THE BIRD WAY
Penguin Press
2020