IMPECCABLY RESEARCHED true-crime tale of a particularly grisly, grim 1953 Kansas City kidnapping and murder. SOLID B

ZERO AT THE BONE: THE PLAYBOY, THE PROSTITUTE, AND THE MURDER OF BOBBY GREENLEASE
St. Martin’s Press
2009

CALIFORNIA WINE COUNTRY details shine in an otherwise formulaic thriller about family secrets and lost memory. B MINUS

BLOOD VINES
St. Martin’s Press
2010

EPIC FANTASY set in a world inspired by ancient China features dragons, magical jade, vividly drawn characters. B PLUS

JADE MAN’S SKIN
Random House Publishing Group
2010

CHARM, DEFT CHARACTERIZATION make this comedy of errors about a recovering spendaholic a fun, fluffy read. B PLUS

THE PENNY PINCHERS CLUB
Dutton Books
2009

SOME LAUGH-OUT-LOUD funny bits enliven a drearily cynical look at marriage by a couple, both writers and actors. C PLUS

YOU SAY TOMATO, I SAY SHUT UP: A LOVE STORY
Crown
2010

TURBOCHARGED THRILLER tale of superspy with intermittent dementia, his slacker son on the run for their lives. A MINUS

ONCE A SPY
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
2010

CHATTY, THOROUGHLY researched group bio of Timothy Leary and other key players in 1960s Harvard LSD experiments. B PLUS

THE HARVARD PSYCHEDELIC CLUB: HOW TIMOTHY LEARY, RAM DASS, HUSTON SMITH, AND ANDREW WEIL KILLED THE FIFTIES AND USHERED IN A NEW AGE FOR AMERICA
HarperOne
2010

SNAPPY, WELL-CONSTRUCTED cozy mystery features a snarky pair of mother-and-daughter antique dealers as sleuths. SOLID B

ANTIQUES BIZARRE
Kensington Publishing
2010

OFFBEAT MYSTERY features an elderly Japanese-American gardener sleuth, a complex crime involving antique dolls. B PLUS

BLOOD HINA: A MAS ARAI MYSTERY
Minotaur Books
2010

ELEGAIC, VIVID, touching re-imagination by Maryse Conde of her grandmother’s life in 19th century Guadeloupe. A MINUS

VICTOIRE: MY MOTHER’S MOTHER
Atria Books
2010