LUMINOUS, DELICATE, wistful novel-in-stories focuses on the staff of an international newspaper in decline. A MINUS

THE IMPERFECTIONISTS
Dial Press
2010

WELL-CONSTRUCTED MYSTERY, rich in regional Canadian (Saskatchewan!) detail and intrigue; twelfth in a series. SOLID B

THE NESTING DOLLS
McClelland & Stewart Ltd.
2010

EASY TO READ despite impressive breadth of research, this history of Prohibition in the US is smart and funny. B PLUS

LAST CALL: THE RISE AND FALL OF PROHIBITION
Scribner Book Company
2010

COMPLEX STRUCTURE may not be for everyone, but there are great details in this sprawling music-industry saga. SOLID B

A VISIT FROM THE GOON SQUAD
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
2010

A SHELTERED WHITE SUBURBANITE gets 15 months in federal women’s prison: interesting, often insightful memoir. B PLUS

ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK: MY YEAR IN A WOMEN’S PRISON
Spiegel & Grau
2010

META-META-METANOVEL plays on science fiction tropes, family drama cliches; may not be for everyone, but fresh! SOLID B

HOW TO LIVE SAFELY IN A SCIENCE FICTIONAL UNIVERSE
Pantheon Books
2010

A TINY TEXAS TOWN is profiled in a book that offers some sweet writing, gentle portraits, but lacks focus. SOLID B

WELCOME TO UTOPIA: NOTES FROM A SMALL TOWN
Spiegel & Grau
2010

A RARE LITERARY CURIOSITY–an experimental meta-novel by Romain Gary–now in its first translation from French. B PLUS

HOCUS BOGUS (THE MARGELLOS WORLD REPUBLIC OF LETTERS SERIES)
Yale University Press
2010

ENGROSSING TRUE STORY of the 1800s’ Colt brothers: one a pioneer in gun design, one a notorious murderer. B PLUS

KILLER COLT: MURDER, DISGRACE, AND THE MAKING OF AN AMERICAN LEGEND
Random House Publishing Group
2010

CHILLING AND SUSPENSEFUL tale of a teenage sociopath doing battle with even greater horrors. SOLID B

I AM NOT A SERIAL KILLER (JOHN CLEAVER SERIES #1)
Doherty, Tom Associates, LLC
2010