THOUGHTFUL, ELOQUENT MEMOIR of a writer’s day jobs in sex work and in human services work. Stunning, raw! B PLUS

WICKEDLY CLEVER SATIRE takes on Ireland’s “Celtic Tiger” boom and bust, along with love, death, metaphysics. B PLUS

THE DEVIL I KNOW
Grove Press
2014

WICKEDLY CLEVER SATIRE takes on Ireland’s “Celtic Tiger” boom and bust, along with love, death, metaphysics. B PLUS

GENTLY DEVASTATING NOVEL tells the story of a family shaken by emigration, and by sudden tragedy. Amazing! SOLID A

AN AMBITIOUS OVERVIEW OF CHINESE civilization yields a loosely assembled grab bag of fascinating information. SOLID B

FROM MOON CAKES TO MAO TO MODERN CHINA : AN INTRODUCTION TO CHINESE CIVILIZATION
CN Times Books
2014

SAD, THOUGHTFUL NOVEL follows a seven-year-old Italian boy through a major life crisis. Beautifully observed. B PLUS

THE FIRST TRUE LIE
Hogarth
2014

ATLANTIC CITY IN its 1970s heyday comes alive in this richly evocative novel of love, loss, and the boardwalk. B PLUS

MR. BOARDWALK
New Door Books
2014

THE SALTIEST SENIOR CITIZEN in all of mystery fiction is back! The Puzzle Lady’s on the track of a killer. B PLUS

NYPD PUZZLE
Minotaur Books
2014

A CULINARY HISTORY OF New York City, from the Lenape’s corn cakes to today’s cronut. Lots of information! SOLID B

NEW YORK CITY : A FOOD BIOGRAPHY
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
2013

GORGEOUS EXISTENTIAL MYSTERY uses the death of a psychiatrist to explore questions of truth, love, identity. SOLID A

VIVIANE
New Press, The
2014