SKILLFULLY CRAFTED gangster soap opera has lots of twists and turns, compelling if over-the-top characters. SOLID B

SNAPPED: A NOVEL
St. Martin’s Press
2010

SELF-DISCOVERY THROUGH TANGO is at the heart of this memoir, but the best stuff here is the dance history. SOLID B

HOLD ME TIGHT AND TANGO ME HOME
Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
2010

ENTERTAINING, WELL-RESEARCHED look at the history and culture of moonshine whiskey in the US. SOLID B

CHASING THE WHITE DOG: AN AMATEUR OUTLAW’S ADVENTURES IN MOONSHINE
Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group
2010

EOIN COLFER’S REBOOT of HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE has some great moments; but in the end, it’s just not Douglas Adams. SOLID B

AND ANOTHER THING…
Hyperion Books
2009

ABSORBING, DETAILED recounting of a far-reaching case of scientific fraud, its implications for science, media. SOLID B

PLASTIC FANTASTIC: HOW THE BIGGEST FRAUD IN PHYSICS SHOOK THE SCIENTIFIC WORLD
Palgrave Macmillan
2010

IMPECCABLY RESEARCHED true-crime tale of a particularly grisly, grim 1953 Kansas City kidnapping and murder. SOLID B

ZERO AT THE BONE: THE PLAYBOY, THE PROSTITUTE, AND THE MURDER OF BOBBY GREENLEASE
St. Martin’s Press
2009

SNAPPY, WELL-CONSTRUCTED cozy mystery features a snarky pair of mother-and-daughter antique dealers as sleuths. SOLID B

ANTIQUES BIZARRE
Kensington Publishing
2010

MOODY, EVOCATIVE novel follows three generations of family dysfunction; vague protagonist is the main drawback. SOLID B

THE GIN CLOSET
Free Press
2010

THOUGHTFUL WRITING, strong female characters shine in Eugie Foster’s twists on East Asian myths and legends. SOLID B

RETURNING MY SISTER’S FACE: AND OTHER FAR EASTERN TALES OF WHIMSY AND MALICE
Norilana Books
2009

CHARM ABOUNDS in sweet, if slow, mystery starring a New Orleans house cleaner/sleuth solving a movie-set death. SOLID B

DUSTED TO DEATH
Kensington
2010