A RICH TAPESTRY OF HISTORY comes alive in this vividly told saga of Richard the Lionhearted’s last years. B PLUS

A KING’S RANSOM
A Marian Wood Book/Putnam
2014

APPEALING TIME-TRAVEL TALE with spunky heroine, intriguing premise, Minnesota local color, but uneven pacing. B MINUS

THE RUNESTONE INCIDENT
47North
2014

HIGH-TECH CONSPIRACY THRILLER is packed with suspense, grandly over the top in the best Crichton tradition. B PLUS

INFLUX
Dutton Books
2014

THE HEARTBREAKS, EXHILARATIONS of one woman’s journey from an ultra-Orthodox childhood to a more secular life. B PLUS

CUT ME LOOSE : SIN AND SALVATION AFTER MY ULTRA-ORTHODOX GIRLHOOD
Nan A. Talese
2014

THOUGHTS ON FACING LIFE challenges–from hip replacement to the joy of a new dog–with grace. Charming, wry. B PLUS

NEW LIFE, NO INSTRUCTIONS
Random House
2014

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

THE WILD, ALMOST HALLUCINOGENIC story of writer Walter Kirn’s friendship with murderer “Clark Rockefeller”. A MINUS

BLOOD WILL OUT
Liveright Publishing Corporation
2014

A WRITER REDISCOVERS HER mother’s virtues in challenging times. Lovely, loving memoir is both sweet and wry. B PLUS

GLITTER AND GLUE
Ballantine Books
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