ANOTHER BRILLIANT GLASGOW noir from Christopher Brookmyre. Not to be missed by crime-fiction aficionados! A MINUS

A SNARKY COUNTERCULTURE SATIRE is packed with fun classical and pop-media references, a bit too much plot. SOLID B

AN ELUSIVE HAUNTING at the intersection of art and life sparks a story of love and loss inspired by REBECCA. B PLUS

A QUIRKY EXISTENTIAL FABLE of a corporate drone who writes a happiness survey. Surrealism, bleak wit abound. B PLUS

A COMPLEX, UNEASY THRILLER with a likable protagonist, but a far too tangled web of suspects and motives. B MINUS

THE WATCHER : A NOVEL OF CRIME
Pegasus Books
2014

A SIMPLE, ELEGANT NOVEL set in a quiet Tokyo quarter traces a couple’s growing affection for a neighbor cat. B PLUS

THE GUEST CAT
New Directions Publishing Corporation
2014

A DELICATELY WROUGHT PORTRAIT of a marriage traces the ups and downs of love in spare yet poetic prose. SOLID B

DEPT. OF SPECULATION
Knopf
2014

A RICH TAPESTRY OF HISTORY comes alive in this vividly told saga of Richard the Lionhearted’s last years. B PLUS

A KING’S RANSOM
A Marian Wood Book/Putnam
2014

APPEALING TIME-TRAVEL TALE with spunky heroine, intriguing premise, Minnesota local color, but uneven pacing. B MINUS

THE RUNESTONE INCIDENT
47North
2014

HIGH-TECH CONSPIRACY THRILLER is packed with suspense, grandly over the top in the best Crichton tradition. B PLUS

INFLUX
Dutton Books
2014