REAL-LIFE ADVENTURE, 1890s style, profiles one bicyclist lost on a round-the-world tour, another who sought him. B PLUS

THE LOST CYCLIST: THE EPIC TALE OF AN AMERICAN ADVENTURER AND HIS MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH)
2010

THIRD IN A SERIES featuring feisty Connecticut landscaper/amateur sleuth Paula Holliday; tight plot, good fun. B PLUS

DEAD HEAD (DIRTY BUSINESS SERIES #3)
St. Martin’s Press
2010

FASCINATING LIFE of the most famous Shakespeare forger of all time is illuminating, surprisingly sympathetic. B PLUS

THE BOY WHO WOULD BE SHAKESPEARE: A TALE OF FORGERY AND FOLLY
Da Capo Press
2010

HORROR AND SNARK abound in this latest adventure of Bob Howard, computer geek/wizard/undercover agent. B PLUS

THE FULLER MEMORANDUM (LAUNDRY FILES SERIES)
Penguin Group (USA)
2010

WELL-CRAFTED TUDOR ROMANCE follows the adventures of lovely Lettice Knollys through Elizabeth’s court. SOLID B

RIVAL TO THE QUEEN
St. Martin’s Press
2010

GRACIOUS AND ELOQUENT, if not wholly compelling, culinary memoir of a tough childhood and a life in publishing. SOLID B

CAKEWALK: A MEMOIR
Dial Press
2010

ENLIGHTENING, EVEN SURPRISING history of the tomato in Italy. Lots of research, fascinating anecdotes. B PLUS

POMODORO!: A HISTORY OF THE TOMATO IN ITALY
Columbia University Press
2010

INTRIGUING TALE of family secrets and family dysfunction spanning generations, cultures. Fascinating puzzle. B PLUS

A STRANGER IN THE FAMILY
Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group
2010

DYSTOPIAN ARK of clones in a dying future world still haunted by memories of World War II makes for poetic SF. SOLID B

THE FACILITY (LEAPLIT)
Leapfrog Press
2010

A SINGAPOREAN DETECTIVE solves a mystery in Malaysia in this first of a sparkling new series. Fascinating plot! B PLUS

INSPECTOR SINGH INVESTIGATES: A MOST PECULIAR MALAYSIAN MURDER
St. Martin’s Press
2010