SMART, DETAIL-RICH LOOK at an outbreak of mass hysteria in 16th-century Germany, when 100+ people danced for days. B PLUS

THE DANCING PLAGUE: THE STRANGE, TRUE STORY OF AN EXTRAORDINARY ILLNESS
Sourcebooks, Inc.
2009

SPOOKY THRILLER about mysterious lights seen in a small Texas town, and the havoc they wreak on witnesses’ lives. B PLUS

THE SHIMMER
Vanguard Press
2009

CANDID, GONZO memoir from a well-known tattoo artist offers oodles of charm and eloquent insights into his world. B PLUS

TATTOO MACHINE: TALL TALES, TRUE STORIES, AND MY LIFE IN INK
Spiegel & Grau
2009

EPIC, INGENIOUS, science-packed, the latest space saga from Alastair Reynolds is as thinky and as fun as his best. A MINUS

HOUSE OF SUNS
Penguin Group (USA)
2009

WELL-DONE installment of the Sherlock Holmes-Mary Russell pastiche series takes on esoteric cults and charlatans. B PLUS

THE LANGUAGE OF BEES (MARY RUSSELL NOVELS)
Bantam
2009

ATMOSPHERIC mystery is rich in 1930s detail, ingenious plot twists, and evocatively gloomy London setting. A MINUS

BLEEDING HEART SQUARE
Hyperion
2009

ENTERTAINING MEMOIR of the author’s years as a DJ and factotum aboard ship for “pirate” station Radio Caroline. B PLUS

SHIPROCKED: LIFE ON THE WAVES WITH RADIO CAROLINE
Liberties Press
2009

KING TUT’S TOMB is at the center of this complex, well-researched life of Howard Carter, Tut’s modern discoverer. SOLID B

IN THE VALLEY OF THE KINGS: HOWARD CARTER AND THE MYSTERY OF KING TUTANKHAMUN’S TOMB
Ballantine Books
2009

AN UNLIKELY FRIENDSHIP between two women–a Nigerian refugee and an English journalist–is based on shared horror. B PLUS

LITTLE BEE: A NOVEL
Simon & Schuster
2009

TRUE 1920s TALES of celebrity bridge experts and a headline-grabbing murder are woven together in engrossing read. B PLUS

THE DEVIL’S TICKETS: A NIGHT OF BRIDGE, A FATAL HAND, AND A NEW AMERICAN AGE
Crown
2009