COMPLEX STRUCTURE may not be for everyone, but there are great details in this sprawling music-industry saga. SOLID B

A VISIT FROM THE GOON SQUAD
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
2010

META-META-METANOVEL plays on science fiction tropes, family drama cliches; may not be for everyone, but fresh! SOLID B

HOW TO LIVE SAFELY IN A SCIENCE FICTIONAL UNIVERSE
Pantheon Books
2010

A TINY TEXAS TOWN is profiled in a book that offers some sweet writing, gentle portraits, but lacks focus. SOLID B

WELCOME TO UTOPIA: NOTES FROM A SMALL TOWN
Spiegel & Grau
2010

CHILLING AND SUSPENSEFUL tale of a teenage sociopath doing battle with even greater horrors. SOLID B

I AM NOT A SERIAL KILLER (JOHN CLEAVER SERIES #1)
Doherty, Tom Associates, LLC
2010

CANDID MEMOIR OF ADDICTION by a literary agent reveals so much that many readers may find it uncomfortable. SOLID B

PORTRAIT OF AN ADDICT AS A YOUNG MAN: A MEMOIR
Little Brown and Company
2010

OLD-SCHOOL HORROR with a Great Depression setting and a spaghetti-Western feel; spooky despite overwriting. SOLID B

MR. SHIVERS
Orbit
2010

THE END OF A MARRIAGE and its impact on a group of female friends; nothing too new, but well observed moments. SOLID B

LOVE IN MID AIR
Grand Central Publishing
2010

MILITARY/SPY THRILLER entertains, despite its supremely implausible plot and a dash too much of Jung. SOLID B

THE GOOD SON
Holt, Henry & Company, Inc.
2010

SMART, TENSE thriller features a psychologist sleuth and a vividly described Boulder, Colorado setting. SOLID B

THE LAST LIE
Dutton Adult
2010

AN AMERICAN WOMAN IN PARIS finds love, culture clashes, and new recipes in this better-than-the-usual memoir. SOLID B

LUNCH IN PARIS: A LOVE STORY, WITH RECIPES
Little, Brown & Company
2010