LONELINESS, viewed through personal experience and scholarly research, is the topic. Interesting but choppy. B MINUS

LONELY: A MEMOIR
HarperCollins Publishers
2010

TRUE STORY of a headline-grabbing New York society murder in 1873 paints a vivid picture of the Gilded Age. B PLUS

THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF WALWORTH: A TALE OF MADNESS AND MURDER IN GILDED AGE AMERICA
Henry Holt & Company
2010

CORPORATE ESPIONAGE takes many a deadly twist in this latest William Gibson novel of the present future. B PLUS

ZERO HISTORY
Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated
2010

CANDID, SURPRISINGLY FUNNY memoir by a writer and comedian about living with a rare autoimmune disease. B PLUS

ARE YOU MY GURU?: HOW MEDICINE, MEDITATION & MADONNA SAVED MY LIFE
New American Library
2010

ANCIENT ATHENS goes noir in this Periclean private-eye yarn featuring a flip, jaded tough-guy Greek sleuth. B PLUS

THE PERICLES COMMISSION
St. Martin’s Press
2010

WITTY, CHARMING MEMOIR of growing up gay in the 1970s Midwest; no new ground here, but lots of warmth, humor. SOLID B

WHERE’S MY WAND?: ONE BOY’S MAGICAL TRIUMPH OVER ALIENATION AND SHAG CARPETING
Amy Einhorn Books
2010

FLUFFY JET-SET CAPER features jewel robberies, TV stars, makeovers, a pampered chihuahua, way too much plot. B MINUS

IT ALL BEGAN IN MONTE CARLO
St. Martin’s Press
2010

TRAGICOMEDY OF MANNERS and marriage skewers the cashmere-and-granola self-righteousness of Brooklyn Heights. SOLID B

THE HEIGHTS
Penguin Group (USA)
2010

QUIRKY CHARM, offbeat structure are at the heart of this sweet, poignant novel about love, loss, and lightning. B PLUS

THE HANDBOOK FOR LIGHTNING STRIKE SURVIVORS
Crown Publishing Group
2010

AMERICANA CHARM and a World War II setting make this small-town mystery a delightful read. B PLUS

MISS DIMPLE DISAPPEARS
St. Martin’s Press
2010