THE EXTRAVAGANT, ECCENTRIC LIFE of surrealist fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli, beautifully presented. B PLUS

ELSA SCHIAPARELLI
Knopf
2014

BACKSTAGE IN THE ROCK WORLD: a novel about a groupie turned star. Love of music shines through clunky prose. B MINUS

WHAT BECOMES A LEGEND MOST
self-published
2014

HIGH-ENERGY SUPERNATURAL THRILLER with a likable tough-guy protagonist battling demons and worse in noir NY. B PLUS

DIE AND STAY DEAD
St. Martin’s Griffin
2014

SECRETS OF AREA X finally unfold in the finale to the Southern Reach trilogy. Smart, eerie science fiction! B PLUS

ACCEPTANCE
FSG Originals
2014

CHARMING COZY MYSTERY set at an 1890s women’s college stars a spunky professor sleuth and a complex crime. B PLUS

UNSEEMLY AMBITION: A CONCORDIA WELLS MYSTERY
K.B. Owen Mysteries
2014

HAUNTING, EXTRAORDINARY NOVEL follows a young Moroccan man to Barcelona amid revolution, love, and loss. A MINUS

STREET OF THIEVES
Open Letter
2014

OBSESSIVE LOVE AND MADNESS illuminated in this heartbreaking literary novel of a Taiwanese expat in Paris. B PLUS

LAST WORDS FROM MONTMARTRE
NYRB Classics
2014

A BICOASTAL MURDER MYSTERY with a complex plot and a likable protagonist; could have used a bit more polish. B MINUS

Jo West
2014

FIRST CONTACT WITH ALIENS, who warn of an impending catastrophe, puts Earth society under stress. Smart SF! B PLUS

YESTERDAY’S KIN
Tachyon Publications
2014

LIFE AFTER CANCER TREATMENT: a thoughtful memoir looks at motherhood, career change, and losing loved ones. SOLID B

THEN CAME LIFE : LIVING WITH COURAGE, SPIRIT, AND GRATITUDE AFTER BREAST CANCER
Gotham Books
2014