SLY, ACID SATIRE follows a slacker turned hero after he averts a high-school massacre. Grimly funny and true.

THEATER AND MAGIC HISTORIAN Jim Steinmeyer looks into the inspirations for Bram Stoker’s DRACULA. Spooky fun!

A FRESH LOOK AT FRANKENSTEIN puts the novel in the context of the scientific and cultural ferment of its era. B PLUS

THE LADY AND HER MONSTERS: A TALE OF DISSECTIONS, REAL-LIFE DR. FRANKENSTEINS, AND THE CREATION OF MARY SHELLEY’S MASTERPIECE
HarperCollins Publishers
2013

ENGROSSING SHERLOCK HOLMES adventure, in which he and Dr. Watson solve a deadly Boer War mystery. Deftly done! B PLUS

DEATH ON A PALE HORSE: SHERLOCK HOLMES ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE
Pegasus
2013

A TIME TRAVELER BATTLES his older and younger selves in an atmospheric post-apocalyptic science fiction noir. B PLUS

MAN IN THE EMPTY SUIT
Soho Press
2013

THE EVER-HILARIOUS LAURIE NOTARO is back with another book of musings on the ridiculousness of humanity. Yay! B PLUS

THE POTTY MOUTH AT THE TABLE
Gallery Books
2013

THE EVER-HILARIOUS LAURIE NOTARO is back with another book of musings on the ridiculousness of humanity. Yay!

LOVELY AUSTENESQUE FANTASY, third in a series, with magic-workers involved in English politics. Absorbing fun!

BRILLIANTLY PLOTTED THRILLER follows a hard-boiled detective on the hunt for a killer of lovely call girls.

THE MEDIEVAL ENGLISH COURT of Aethelred and Emma, vividly depicted in all its wicked intrigue. Tudors? Pfft!