RICHLY IMAGINED FANTASY in this latest tale of Inspector Chen, who helps to police Heaven, Hell, and Singapore-3. B PLUS

THE SHADOW PAVILION: A DETECTIVE INSPECTOR CHEN NOVEL
Night Shade Books
2008

INSECTS AS WEAPONS IN HUMAN WARS, from ancient times to present day, are the subject of this well-researched tome. SOLID B

SIX-LEGGED SOLDIERS: USING INSECTS AS WEAPONS OF WAR
Oxford University Press, USA
2008

FIRST-HAND ACCOUNT by the last survivor of the German Army officers’ conspiracy to kill Hitler is spare, direct. SOLID B

VALKYRIE: THE STORY OF THE PLOT TO KILL HITLER, BY ITS LAST MEMBER
Knopf
2009

SMART, HIGH-CONCEPT GERMAN THRILLER serves up Hitchcock-worthy twists and turns, keeps readers guessing. A MINUS #beachread

THERAPY
St. Martin’s Press
2009

SHERLOCK HOLMES GOES SUPERNATURAL in this short fiction collection. All good; Barbara Hambly’s Peter Pan tale rules. B PLUS

GASLIGHT GRIMOIRE: FANTASTIC TALES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES
EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing
2008

MURDER MYSTERY SET AT WRITERS’ CONFERENCE may be good fun for some, a bit too reliant on insider humor for others. SOLID B

DEATH AND THE LIT CHICK (A ST. JUST MYSTERY)
MIDNIGHT INK
2009

SNARKY, FUNNY, REFRESHINGLY INSIGHTFUL insider account of one woman’s life as a not-quite-star of TV, stage, screen. B PLUS

TAKE YOUR SHIRT OFF AND CRY: A MEMOIR OF NEAR-FAME EXPERIENCES
Bloomsbury USA
2009

FANTASY GOES SOUTHERN GOTHIC in this spooky tale of a menacing sea goddess. Rich, evocative, languid, terrifying. SOLID B

FATHOM
Tor Books
2008

THOUGHTFUL NOVEL takes heroine from India to New York, looking for love and enlightenment, teaching yoga in prison. SOLID B

LUCKY EVERYDAY
Penguin Books
2009

CHATTY BEHIND-THE-SCENES ACCOUNT of how Pluto was downgraded from planet status collects documents, kids’ letters. SOLID B

THE PLUTO FILES: THE RISE AND FALL OF AMERICA’S FAVORITE PLANET
W. W. Norton & Company
2009