FAST-PACED, STYLISH historical spy thriller with plenty of romance is Lauren Willig’s 6th Pink Carnation caper. B PLUS

THE BETRAYAL OF THE BLOOD LILY (PINK CARNATION SERIES #6)
Penguin Group (USA)
2010

FASCINATING TRUE-LIFE STORY of an American police reporter in Japan offers eyewitness account of crime, justice. B PLUS

TOKYO VICE: AN AMERICAN REPORTER ON THE POLICE BEAT IN JAPAN
Pantheon Books
2009

AN INSIDE LOOK at the lives of twins, by a journalist who’s an identical twin herself. Fascinating interviews! B PLUS

ONE AND THE SAME ONE AND THE SAME: MY LIFE AS AN IDENTICAL TWIN AND WHAT I’VE LEARNED ABOUT EVEMY LIFE AS AN IDENTICAL TWIN AND WHAT I’VE LEARNED ABOUT EVERYONE’S STRUGGLE TO BE SINGULAR RYONE’S STRUGGLE TO BE SINGULAR
Random House USA Inc
2009

CANDID LOOK at pill addiction shares the author’s own experience, interviews with current and recovering users. B PLUS

PILL HEAD: THE SECRET LIFE OF A PAINKILLER ADDICT
Hyperion
2009

EVOCATIVE WRITING, a convincingly flawed protagonist, rich detail rescue this Big Gay Novel from soap-operadom. B PLUS

OBJECT OF DESIRE
Kensington Publishing Corporation
2009

RICHLY DETAILED BIOGRAPHY of the little-known 14th century Queen Joanna of Naples foregrounds medieval politics. B PLUS

THE LADY QUEEN: THE NOTORIOUS REIGN OF JOANNA I, QUEEN OF NAPLES, JERUSALEM, AND SICILY
Walker & Company
2009

A FIELD BIOLOGIST’S chatty, engaging take on unusual and surprising interactions in the animal and plant worlds. B PLUS

SEXY ORCHIDS MAKE LOUSY LOVERS & OTHER UNUSUAL RELATIONSHIPS
University of Chicago Press
2009

FAST-PACED MYSTERY with a feisty “ski diva” detective offers tight plotting, vivid Vermont ski-resort detail. B PLUS

DOUBLE BLACK (SKI DIVA MYSTERY SERIES)
St. Martin’s Press
2010

LIFE OF MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS is rich in detail and unbiased, but lacks the passion of more partisan biogs. B PLUS

THE LIFE OF MARY: QUEEN OF SCOTS: AN ACCIDENTAL TRAGEDY
Pegasus Books
2009

ATMOSPHERIC, ELOQUENT novel paints a delicate portrait of the last years of the British occupation of Cyprus. B PLUS

SMALL WARS
HarperCollins Publishers
2010