A TRANSATLANTIC ROMANCE SET against the backdrops of music journalism in London, big finance in New York. SOLID B

FIX YOU
self-published
2014

AN UNLIKELY QUINTET OF SLEUTHS (four elderly Italian barflies and a young bartender) solve a local murder. B PLUS

GAME FOR FIVE
Europa Editions, Incorporated
2014

TWO IRISH ÉMIGRÉS meet again after years in the US and uncover troubling family secrets. Stark and vivid. SOLID B

THE VISITORS
Viking Adult
2014

MURDER IN THE HIGHLANDS once again, and a complex case to untangle for policeman Hamish Macbeth. SOLID B

DEATH OF A POLICEMAN
Grand Central Publishing
2014

BOSTON’S INDIE ROCK scene in the 1980s, vividly evoked in a smart, gritty tale of a young band on the rise. B PLUS

NEXT BIG THING
self-published
2013

THE WILD, DREAMLIKE WORLDS of M. John Harrison span galaxies and centuries, woven with science and magic. SOLID B

A SPRAWLING EXISTENTIAL DETECTIVE novel that only Thomas Pynchon could have written. Wonderful and baffling. B PLUS

THE LASTING IMPACT OF WAR on four generations of an English family; everyday tragedies shown with compassion. SOLID B

HOME FIRES
Bloomsbury USA
2013

APPEALING NEW YORK cozy mystery draws on the publishing world and the city’s old-money elite for color. SOLID B

ALMOST TRUE CONFESSIONS : CLOSET SLEUTH SPILLS ALL
William Morrow & Company
2013

TAUT, FAST-PACED THRILLER combines non-stop action, a gripping plot, and plenty of local Boston detail. B PLUS

BROTHERS AND BONES
James Hankins
2012