ENGAGING LOOK AT CHINATOWNS across the US mixes interviews with cultural history for some surprising insights. B PLUS

AMERICAN CHINATOWN: A PEOPLE’S HISTORY OF FIVE NEIGHBORHOODS
Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group
2009

THE MONA LISA STOLEN! Picasso a suspect! True tale of 1911 art theft delights. B PLUS

VANISHED SMILE: THE MYSTERIOUS THEFT OF MONA LISA
Knopf
2009

TIGHTLY PLOTTED MYSTERY, the 10th for Inspector Peter Diamond, features historical reenactors, preservationists. B PLUS

SKELETON HILL (PETER DIAMOND SERIES #10)
Soho Press, Incorporated
2009

SPRAWLING, SUSPENSEFUL speculative thriller about an online role-playing game’s intersection with real danger. B PLUS

THIS IS NOT A GAME
Orbit/Yen
2009

COMPLEX, ATMOSPHERIC mystery is the 17th to feature Minnesota lesbian restaurateur and sleuth Jane Lawless. B PLUS

THE MIRROR AND THE MASK (JANE LAWLESS SERIES #17)
St. Martin’s Press
2009

MOODY, MEDITATIVE, eloquent novel takes us inside the head of a young woman navigating a complex family life. B PLUS

THE VISIBLES
Free Press
2009

CHARMING AND HIGHLY READABLE overview of personal space travel is a great layperson’s introduction to the field. B PLUS

HOW TO BUILD YOUR OWN SPACESHIP: THE SCIENCE OF PERSONAL SPACE TRAVEL
Plume
2009

WISE, WITTY meditation on age, challenges of facing life’s challenges by REVIVING OPHELIA author Mary Pipher. B PLUS

SEEKING PEACE: CHRONICLES OF THE WORST BUDDHIST IN THE WORLD
Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated
2009

POIGNANT, QUIRKY little novel follows an elderly couple and their sick dog through a weekend of tension in NYC. B PLUS

HEROIC MEASURES
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
2009

STRANGE, UNSETTLING, frenetic real-life picaresque saga of middle-aged American medical tourists in China. B PLUS

LARRY’S KIDNEY: BEING THE TRUE STORY OF HOW I FOUND MYSELF IN CHINA WITH MY BLACK SHEEP COUSIN AND HIS MAIL-ORDER BRIDE, SKIRTING THE LAW TO GET HIM A TRANSPLANT–AND SAVE HIS LIFE
William Morrow
2009