ANOTHER BRILLIANT GLASGOW noir from Christopher Brookmyre. Not to be missed by crime-fiction aficionados! A MINUS

A SNARKY COUNTERCULTURE SATIRE is packed with fun classical and pop-media references, a bit too much plot. SOLID B

AN ELUSIVE HAUNTING at the intersection of art and life sparks a story of love and loss inspired by REBECCA. B PLUS

CHATTY, CATTY HUMOR targets the stresses and anxieties of midlife, middle-class moms. Wry, but warmhearted! SOLID B

A QUIRKY EXISTENTIAL FABLE of a corporate drone who writes a happiness survey. Surrealism, bleak wit abound. B PLUS

A COMPLEX, UNEASY THRILLER with a likable protagonist, but a far too tangled web of suspects and motives. B MINUS

THE WATCHER : A NOVEL OF CRIME
Pegasus Books
2014

A SIMPLE, ELEGANT NOVEL set in a quiet Tokyo quarter traces a couple’s growing affection for a neighbor cat. B PLUS

THE GUEST CAT
New Directions Publishing Corporation
2014

THE EARLY YEARS OF CRYONICS, in all their improvisatory cowboy chaos, described by a founding enthusiast. SOLID B

FREEZING PEOPLE IS (NOT) EASY : MY ADVENTURES IN CRYONICS
Lyons Press
2014

A CLEVER FAIRY-TALE REBOOT features a young woman fighting an ancient curse, half-brothers vying to save her. B PLUS

DIVIDE
self-published
2014

A DELICATELY WROUGHT PORTRAIT of a marriage traces the ups and downs of love in spare yet poetic prose. SOLID B

DEPT. OF SPECULATION
Knopf
2014