A CYBER-ENHANCED MECHANIC AND A TRADITIONAL herdsman go on the run in a near-future Nigeria riven by environmental disaster and corporate greed. Suspenseful thriller with strong characterizations and a vivid sense of place. B PLUS

NOOR
DAW
2021

IN THE AFTERMATH OF HURRICANE KATRINA, a young man wanders the South looking for a feeling of home. Mystical, poetic novel about a displaced man with a strong connection to a 17th century saint shines in its extraordinarily vivid prose. B PLUS

NONE BUT THE RIGHTEOUS
Counterpoint
2022

A PODCASTER’S COMPLICATED LIFE gets more complicated when the man who broke her heart years ago comes back into it. Not to mention her mother’s illness, or her conflicts with her beloved sisters. Smart Black women’s fiction with some spicy scenes. B PLUS

THE PARKER SISTERS: AURORA
Tay Mo&#39
2022

A WILDLY IMAGINATIVE FANTASY thriller captures themes of love, magic, trauma, oppression, collective action, secret societies, monsters, and more in the shimmering labyrinths of its prose. B PLUS

NO GODS, NO MONSTERS (CONVERGENCE SAGA #1)
Blackstone Publishing
2021

THE POWER OF STORYTELLING to unite families, friends, and nations is the central truth at the heart of this charming novel set in a (fictional) African autocracy. Lovely, dreamlike, moving prose. B PLUS

SEASONS IN HIPPOLAND (THE AFRICA LIST)
Seagull Books
2021

WARRIORS TURNED RESTAURATEURS find themselves on a sentient, living spaceship heading for a confrontation with an old enemy. Wonderful characterization, lots of humor, and a high-stakes plot combine the fun of Star Trek and Hitchhiker’s Guide. B PLUS

YOU SEXY THING
Tor Books
2021

AN INTERSTELLAR ARCHAEOLOGIST and an alien AI fight a space pirate and a killer android in a high-energy, far-future science fiction thriller. Lots of excitement, strong characters, great worldbuilding! B PLUS

ASTRAY (THE ADVENTURES OF A XENO-ARCHAEOLOGIST BOOK 1)
Jenny Schwartz
2021

INTRICATE HISTORICAL THRILLER set in 17th century London ties together scientific and political controversies of the age. Memorable characters and rich descriptions of a remarkable era. B PLUS

THE BLOODLESS BOY (A HUNT AND HOOKE NOVEL #1)
Melville House
2021

SENSATIONAL HORROR THRILLER with a vividly imagined setting in the Great Smoky Mountains and an unforgettable cast of characters is both smarter than it needs to be and an all-out gut punch. B PLUS

REVELATOR
Knopf
2021

A HEARTBREAKING ASSIGNMENT IN INDIA confronts a journalist with the horrors and the beauties of the homeland she has shunned for decades. Absolutely compelling novel tells a story of the best and worst of human nature. B PLUS

HONOR
Algonquin Books
2022