SHARP, DEFT THRILLER follows a reporter untangling a mystery—and her family roots—in an insular community. B PLUS

RUN YOU DOWN
Minotaur Books
2015

CLEVER, ENGAGING FANTASY set in an otherworldly kingdom at war and plagued by magical amnesia. Good stuff! B PLUS

SWEEPING CHANGES
BookBaby
2015

COMPLETELY DELIGHTFUL COZY mystery marks the return of Simon Brett’s Mrs. Pargeter, dowager queen of crooks. B PLUS

MRS PARGETER’S PRINCIPLE : A COZY MYSTERY FEATURING THE RETURN OF MRS PARGETER
Creme de La Crime
2015

A POST-PANDEMIC POLICE STATE; a broke former socialite playing dangerous games. Haunting near-future thriller. B PLUS

IMMUNITY
Simon & Schuster
2015

AN ASTRONOMER, BRILLIANT AND UNSTABLE as the stars she studies, breaks down. Grueling yet poetic novel. SOLID B

BINARY STAR
Two Dollar Radio
2015

IN A NEAR-FUTURE WORLD of high-tech surveillance and reality-show diplomacy, an ambassador runs for her life. SOLID B

PERSONA
Saga Press
2015

A FASCINATING HISTORY OF PALEOANTHROPOLOGY emphasizes the huge impact of new discoveries and technologies. A MINUS

THE STRANGE CASE OF THE RICKETY COSSACK
St Martins Pr
2015

ON A HARSH, NEWLY settled planet, a leader—warrior, mother, hunter, conservationist—fights for her people. B PLUS

ARCHANGEL
Resurrection House
2015

GRITTY, TENSE MYSTERY, a U.K. bestseller, features lots of revved-up action but perhaps a bit too much plot. SOLID B

EENY MEENY (HELEN GRACE SERIES #1)
Penguin Publishing Group
2015

SLICK, STYLISH THRILLER stars a duo of globetrotting supercriminals, but fear, desperation are vividly evoked. B PLUS

VANISHING GAMES
Knopf Publishing Group
2015