FUN, THOUGHT-PROVOKING, well-researched travel guide to Shakespeare’s London as of 1599 is fact-filled and witty. A MINUS

SHAKESPEARE’S LONDON ON FIVE GROATS A DAY
Thames & Hudson
2009

ZIPPY ACCOUNT of headline-grabbing 1920s murder of a much-married femme fatale whose lawyer was Jesse James’s son. B PLUS

THE LOVE PIRATE AND THE BANDIT’S SON: MURDER, SIN, AND SCANDAL IN THE SHADOW OF JESSE JAMES
Union Square Press
2009

LOOPILY ENGAGING tale of a Manhattan woman watching her family from the afterlife, trying to solve her own murder. B PLUS

THE LATE, LAMENTED MOLLY MARX
Ballantine Books
2009

A WRITER SCRUTINIZES her parents’ failed marriage and family histories, to which both race and secrets are keys. B PLUS

WHERE DID YOU SLEEP LAST NIGHT?: A PERSONAL HISTORY
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
2009

INTRIGUING, WELL-RESEARCHED book offers insight on the life and work of famously private songwriter Joni Mitchell. B PLUS

WILL YOU TAKE ME AS I AM: JONI MITCHELL’S BLUE PERIOD
Free Press
2009

QUIRKY, TOUCHING novel about a 20-something teacher sorting through her feelings for a boyfriend serving in Iraq. B PLUS

MISS HARPER CAN DO IT
Penguin Group (USA)
2009

LYRICAL, MYSTICAL alternate history set in a United States of Africa thronged by starving European refugees. A MINUS

IN THE UNITED STATES OF AFRICA (FRENCH VOICES (BISON PAPERBACK))
Bison Books
2009

BOTSWANA’S No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency returns in another warm, cozy mystery about friendship, soccer and love. A MINUS

TEA TIME FOR THE TRADITIONALLY BUILT (THE NO. 1 LADIES’ DETECTIVE AGENCY SERIES #10)
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
2009

SERIOCOMIC, BITTERSWEET tale of how a road trip with his aging dad helped a writer make sense of a year of crisis. SOLID B

THE PATRON SAINT OF USED CARS AND SECOND CHANCES: A MEMOIR
Rodale Press
2009

WISTFUL, CLEAR-EYED, LOVING look by food writer Ruth Reichl at her mother’s life, hopes, and frustrated dreams. B PLUS

NOT BECOMING MY MOTHER: AND OTHER THINGS SHE TAUGHT ME ALONG THE WAY
Penguin Press HC, The
2009