SLEEK, SPOOKY THRILLER with a San Francisco setting and a complicated, troubled protagonist. Haunting! B PLUS

THE POISON ARTIST
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
2016

SHOCKING TRUE STORY of the abusive cult behind a prominent 1970s Christian rock group. Thoughtful journalism. B PLUS

FORTNEY ROAD: LIFE, DEATH, AND DECEPTION IN A CHRISTIAN CULT
Freethought House
2015

THE NEUROLOGY OF IRRATIONAL BEHAVIORS, from hallucinations to psychosomatic blindness. Engaging, informed! B PLUS

NEUROLOGIC : THE BRAIN’S HIDDEN RATIONALE BEHIND OUR IRRATIONAL BEHAVIOR
Pantheon Books
2016

SWASHBUCKLING, EPIC ALT-HISTORY set in a New World war between Holland and France, with alchemical robots. B PLUS

THE RISING
Orbit
2015

NORTH KOREA’S ABDUCTIONS of Japanese citizens, explored in historical context. Fascinating and disturbing. B PLUS

INVITATION-ONLY ZONE: THE TRUE STORY OF NORTH KOREAS ABDUCTION PROJECT
Farrar Straus Giroux
2016

UNSETTLING, CREEPY MYSTERY with a rural Swedish setting is elegantly crafted and haunting. B PLUS

THE DROWNING
Pegasus Books
2015

ROBOTICS’ POSSIBILITIES AND LIMITATIONS, compellingly presented by a historian and innovator in the field. B PLUS

OUR ROBOTS, OURSELVES: ROBOTICS AND THE MYTHS OF AUTONOMY
Penguin Publishing Group
2015

MYCROFT HOLMES, ADVENTURER? Clever prequel with memorable characters and a rich, vivid Trinidad setting. B PLUS

MYCROFT HOLMES
Titan Books (UK)
2015

SHARP, SUSPENSEFUL HORROR boasts an on-point Boston setting, a satisfyingly spooky backstory, lots of action. B PLUS

DEAD RINGERS: A NOVEL
St. Martin’s Press
2015

ON THE NEUROSCIENCE OF SELF: an engrossing inquiry combines science, philosophy, and personal narratives. B PLUS

THE MAN WHO WASN’T THERE
Dutton Books
2015