DELIGHTFUL ILLUSTRATED GUIDE to the plants made into the world’s favorite alcoholic drinks. Fun, informative! B PLUS

THE DRUNKEN BOTANIST
Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
2013

YEARS-OLD MURDERS HAUNT a small German village, spark new violence. Suspenseful mystery is a riveting read. B PLUS

SNOW WHITE MUST DIE
Minotaur Books
2013

STARTLINGLY FUNNY MEMOIR about mental and physical illness, the Iranian diaspora, perfectionism, and love. SOLID B

HALDOL AND HYACINTHS
Avery
2013

WONDERFUL COMIC NOIR with a burglar/sleuth tracking down the ghosts of an Old Hollywood scandal. Great stuff! B PLUS

THE FAME THIEF (JUNIOR BENDER #3)
Soho Crime
2013

SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH ON ESP and other paranormal phenomena, reviewed in entertaining detail. Fun and smart! B PLUS

EXTRA SENSORY: THE SCIENCE AND PSEUDOSCIENCE OF TELEPATHY AND OTHER POWERS OF THE MIND
St. Martin’s Press
2013

YOUNG FLIGHT ATTENDANTS find challenges and opportunities in their work. Lovely, witty coming-of-age story. SOLID B

LOVE ME ANYWAY
Thomas Dunne Books
2013

UNETHICAL ADOPTIONS, INTERNATIONAL and domestic, examined in detail and with compassion. Eye-opening and sad. B PLUS

THE CHILD CATCHERS: RESCUE, TRAFFICKING, AND THE NEW GOSPEL OF ADOPTION
PublicAffairs
2013

A SMART, WITTY LOOK at “paleofantasy” and other misconceptions about human evolution, from a biologist. B PLUS

PALEOFANTASY: WHAT EVOLUTION REALLY TELLS US ABOUT SEX, DIET, AND HOW WE LIVE
Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
2013

ATMOSPHERIC SWEDISH MYSTERY features a philosophical detective solving a murder that echoes a long-past case. B PLUS

ROOM NO. 10 (ERIK WINTER SERIES #7)
Simon & Schuster
2013

GLORIOUS, WARM-HEARTED MEMOIR of food, love, and family from novelist Kate Christensen sparkles with joy. A MINUS

BLUE PLATE SPECIAL: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MY APPETITES
Doubleday Books
2013