March 14, 2012
A BRIGHT, CREATIVE TEEN who died tragically young is remembered and celebrated in his dad’s touching memoir.
Grade: B PLUS
IMMORTAL BIRD: A FAMILY MEMOIR
Simon and Schuster
2012
Tags: B Plus Reviews, Health, Memoirs, Non-Fiction
March 13, 2012
TERROR AND ADVENTURE in a virtual world filled with digital clones of history’s tyrants and psychopaths. Wow!
Grade: A MINUS
THE DEMI-MONDE: WINTER
William Morrow
2012
Tags: A Minus Reviews, Alternate History, Novels, Science Fiction, SF
March 12, 2012
M.C. BEATON’S LATEST Highland whodunit swirls environmentalism, family secrets, fairy legends into the mystery.
Grade: SOLID B
DEATH OF A KINGFISHER: A HAMISH MACBETH MYSTERY
Grand Central
2012
Tags: Mystery, Novels, Solid B Reviews
March 11, 2012
THE ANCIENT MAYA CALENDAR and concept of time explained vividly by a distinguished scholar. Debunks 2012 myths!
Grade: B PLUS
THE ORDER OF DAYS: THE MAYA WORLD AND THE TRUTH ABOUT 2012
Crown
2011
Tags: Archaeology, B Plus Reviews, History, Maya, Non-Fiction, Pre-Columbian
March 10, 2012
MARY BOLEYN, MISTRESS and later sister-in-law to Henry VIII, is richly envisioned in this adept biography.
Grade: B PLUS
MARY BOLEYN: MISTRESS OF KINGS
Ballantine
2011
Tags: B Plus Reviews, Biography, England, History, Non-Fiction
March 9, 2012
19th CENTURY NEW ORLEANS is the setting for a well-crafted, complex mystery with a free man of color as sleuth.
Grade: B PLUS
RAN AWAY
Severn House
2012
Tags: B Plus Reviews, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Novels
March 8, 2012
ENGAGING MYSTERY STARS an ex-nun turned sleuth, unwillingly returning to her old convent to solve a murder.
Grade: SOLID B
BACK IN THE HABIT: A FALCONE AND DRISCOLL INVESTIGATION
Midnight Ink
2012
Tags: Mystery, Novels, Solid B Reviews
March 6, 2012
FUNNY, CLEVERLY WROUGHT, occasionally gory tale of pest control professionals on the run from assassins.
Grade: B PLUS
THE EXTERMINATORS: AN ASSASSIN BUG THRILLER
Poisoned Pen Press
2012
Tags: B Plus Reviews, Humor, Novels, Thriller
March 5, 2012
PAM HOUSTON’S NOVEL mixes travel narratives with tales of difficult relationships; alas, vaguely unsatisfying.
Grade: B MINUS
CONTENTS MAY HAVE SHIFTED: A NOVEL
W. W. Norton & Company
2012
Tags: B Minus Reviews, Novels, Women's Fiction