THE DEATH OF A FRIEND takes psychologist/sleuth Maisie Dobbs back to her Cockney roots. Stylish 1930s cosy!

FASCINATING LOOK AT the life of a “dance bar girl” in Mumbai, India, is alternately depressing and inspiring. B PLUS

BEAUTIFUL THING: INSIDE THE SECRET WORLD OF BOMBAY’S DANCE BARS
Black Cat
2012

TEENAGE MONSTERS FACE challenges both ordinary and extraordinary; clever tale mixes fantasy with the mundane. B PLUS

HEMLOCK GROVE
FSG Originals
2012

COMPACT, GRIM THRILLER follows two young Englishmen through an adventure turned sour on the China/Burma border. B PLUS

BORDER RUN
Scribner
2012

THE FALL OF ANNE BOLEYN, richly imagined with an unforgettable cast of characters, vivid details. Fascinating! B PLUS

BRING UP THE BODIES (A JOHN MACRAE BOOK)
Picador
2013

BEAUTIFULLY CRAFTED AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL novel traces a writer’s response to her father’s mental illness. B PLUS

NO ONE
Tin House Books
2012

SUBTLY TERRIFYING TALE peels back the surface of everyday life to reveal malevolent otherworldly beings. B PLUS

THE CRONING
Night Shade Books
2012

COMPELLING ICELANDIC MYSTERY tracks a lawyer/sleuth as she uncovers secrets long buried by a volcanic eruption. B PLUS

ASHES TO DUST (THÓRA GUDMUNDSDÓTTIR SERIES #3)
St. Martin’s Press
2012

THE FUNNIEST AGORAPHOBIA MEMOIR ever written?  Almost certainly, but there’s insight aplenty as well.

A VACATIONING WIDOW gets caught in the undertow of a Mexican drug war in this savvy noir-esque thriller.