Hallam's War by Elizabeth Payne Rosen

Rosen, a deacon in the Episcopal church and a hospital chaplain, delivers an auspicious debut set during the Civil War. Serena Hallam, the beautiful daughter of a prominent Charleston family, is married to handsome Hugh Hallam, a Virginia native, West Point graduate and Mexican War veteran. The happy couple lives with their three children and a dozen slaves at Palmyra Farm in Tennessee . A progressive who is concerned for the welfare of his slaves, Hallam laments the growing sectional acrimony and insists that rational heads will prevail in the end. Regardless, when the war begins, Hallam puts aside his conflicted loyalties and joins the Confederate army. Appointed commander of the 8th Tennessee Infantry Regiment, he is wounded and taken prisoner at Shiloh . In his absence, Serena struggles against long odds to run Palmyra Farm and hold the family together. Rosen paints a balanced picture of antebellum life and writes convincingly about the horrors of combat. (Her description of field hospitals is especially chilling.) Civil War buffs in particular will welcome this thoughtful historical novel. Publishers Weekly

The House at Riverton by Kate Morton

This debut page-turner from Australian Morton recounts the crumbling of a prominent British family as seen through the eyes of one of its servants. At 14, Grace Reeves leaves home to work for her mother's former employers at Riverton House. She is the same age as Hannah, the headstrong middle child who visits her uncle, Lord Ashbury, at Riverton House with her siblings Emmeline and David. Fascinated, Grace observes their comings and goings and, as an invisible maid, is privy to the secrets she will spend "a lifetime pretending to forget." But when a filmmaker working on a movie about the family contacts a 98-year-old Grace to fact-check particulars, the memories come swirling back. The plot largely revolves around sisters Hannah and Emmeline, who were present when a family friend, the young poet R.S. Hunter, allegedly committed suicide at Riverton. Grace hints throughout the narrative that no one knows the real story, and as she chronicles Hannah's schemes to have her own life and the curdling of younger Emmeline's jealousy, the truth about the poet's death is revealed. Morton triumphs with a riveting plot, a touching but tense love story and a haunting ending. Publishers Weekly

Island of Lost Girls by Jennifer McMahon

At the start of McMahon's haunting second novel (after Promise Not to Tell ), recent college grad Rhonda Farr witnesses a child abduction in front of a convenience store in Pike's Crossing, Vt. Ernestine "Ernie" Florucci willingly leaves her mother's car because her six-foot-tall abductor is wearing a rabbit suit. Rhonda remembers her best friend Lizzy's father entertaining her and Lizzy in a rabbit costume in 1993, and vanishing soon after. Three years later, Lizzy disappeared en route to high school. Guilt over her inability to stop Ernie's abduction spurs Rhonda to join the search for the girl. She recalls the summer that Lizzy's older brother, Peter, had them all perform Peter Pan , which was a great success, but there were dark secrets beneath the makeshift stage. McMahon expertly shifts between pivotal events in the past and present-day action, building tension to a resolution both poignant and shattering. Publishers Weekly    

Margarita, How Beautiful the Sea by Sergio Ramirez

In this country, RamA-rez ( To Bury Our Fathers ) is probably best known as a former vice president of Nicaragua (1984-90) and a strong critic of the United States , but in Spanish-speaking countries he is regarded as a leading Nicaraguan fiction writer. This English-language translation of his Margarita, EstA Linda la Mar , which won Spain's Alfaguara Prize in 1998, is, writes the publisher, "a complete metaphor of reality and legend, the entire history of [the author's] country." In 1907, famed poet RubA©n DarA-o returns to his native Nicaragua , where he inscribes one of his most famous poems-that of the title-onto the fan of a nine-year-old girl. Forty-nine years later, the dictator Anastasio Somoza is assassinated by a group of intellectuals and poets. The novel weaves together these two stories in a highly complex structure: the reader must wade through several narrators; read transcribed radio conversations, letters, and even Somoza's curriculum vitae; and sift through legends and actual events. The result is a thoroughly engrossing political novel highly recommended for college and university libraries. Mary Margaret Benson - School Library Journal

The Rosetta Key by William Dietrich

Last seen in Dietrich's Napoleon's Pyramids , fleeing the forces of evil in a runaway hot-air balloon over Egypt , Ethan Gage undergoes further life-threatening adventures in this rollicking sequel. Nine months before the balloon incident, Gage arrived in the Holy Land with his benefactor, Napoleon Bonaparte. After various misunderstandings involving the secrets of the Great Pyramid, Bonaparte became his implacable enemy. Now, accused of treason by Napoleon's minions, Pierre Najac and Najac's boss, the French-Italian count and sorcerer Alessandro Silano, Gage flees to Jerusalem, where he searches for his former lover, Astiza, who he fears has fallen into Silano's hands. Gage is also hunting clues that may lead him to the fabled Book of Toth, an ancient tome that promises to reveal the secrets of the universe. Ever the incorrigible gambler and all-around scamp, Gage makes an irresistible antihero. Publishers Weekly  

Secrets of the Hollywood Girls Club by Maggie Marr

The ripsnorter sequel to Hollywood Girls Club revolves around sex and plastic surgery secrets that, if revealed, would destroy movie queen Celeste "Cici" Solange and likely "sink movie studios" and "destroy high-power industry marriages." If that sounds like fun, it is. "Our world, our business, has nothing to do with substance or reality," lectures Kiki Dee, the bad-ass publicist who collects stars' secrets like Donald Trump amasses real estate. But superficial doesn't come cheap in Hollywood , where A-lister Cici covertly goes under the knife knowing "her public expected her to personify youth and to age gracefully" and that aging gracefully "meant aging very little at all." The surfacing of Cici's other secret-a sex tape made by her ex-sets off a madcap plan to get it back before it hits big on the internet or her husband (and Worldwide Pictures honcho) Ted Robinoff finds out that it exists. Along the way, screenwriter Mary Anne Meyers rises to celebrity on the arm of screen idol Holden Humphrey; Jessica Caufield transitions from agent to big-time manager-producer-wife-and-mom; and production chief Lydia Albright's uncertain about her future. Marr's prose is fast and sharp, and she keeps the plots flying. Publishers Weekly

The Story of Forgetting by Stefan Merrill Block

Mr. Block has found an unusually roundabout, fanciful way of telling the story of one family's genetic destiny. And The Story of Forgetting does not confine its eccentricity to the distant past. Nothing about Mr. Block's narrative is predictable or even suitably bleak, given the nature of the illness he addresses. Early-onset Alzheimer's disease, made grimmer by the new scientific certitude of genetic testing, is at the heart of this emotional roller coaster of a novel… The Story of Forgetting is a fresh, beguiling novel in what is sure to be the rapidly expanding genre of Alzheimer's literature. The New York Times - Janet Maslin    

Sunday at Tiffany's by James Patterson

As a little girl, Jane has no one. Her mother Vivienne Margaux, the powerful head of a major theater company has no time for her. But she does have one friend--Michael--and no one can see him but her. But Michael can't stay with Jane forever, and on her eighth birthday, her imaginary friend must leave her. When Jane is in her thirties, working for her mother's company, she is just as alone as she was as a child. Her boyfriend hardly knows she's there and is more interested in what Vivienne can do for his career. Her mother practically treats her as a slave in the office, despite the great success of Jane's first play, "Thank Heaven." Then she finds Michael--handsome, and just the same as she remembers him, only now he's not imaginary. For once in her life, Jane is happy--and has someone who loves her back. But not even Michael knows the reason behind why they've really been reunited. the publishers

Tuesday Night at the Blue Moon by Debbie Fuller Thomas

This is the kind of fiction that grabs you and won't turn loose. From the moment I met the hopeful Marty and the defensive Andie, Thomas had me enthralled. I particularly liked how she let each of them tell the story from their own point of view. As in life, nothing is as clear cut as it seems. People misunderstand each other's motives, feelings are hurt, progress is made and lost and made again. In Tuesday Night at the Blue Moon, Thomas introduces us to two families who are both dealing with tragic loss. How they finally turn to God, and each other, to move forward and find healing is a journey well worth taking. I was entertained and moved and I anxiously await the next novel from this talented author. Barnes & Noble customer

Wicked City by Ace Atkins  

Atkins's sixth and best novel…he's too young to have known Phenix City in its glory days, but he has done extensive research to give us a painfully realistic picture of just how ugly and corrupt the city had become…It's a vile story, well told. Atkins nicely summons up the 1950s South and keeps us guessing as to whether vice or virtue will triumph in Phenix City . The Washington Post - Patrick Anderson

You've Been Warned by James Patterson

The Patterson bestseller factory has turned out another high-drama thriller, this time in collaboration with Honeymoon coauthor Roughan. Kristin Burns, a New York City nanny and aspiring photographer, is devoted to the two children under her care, but her desire for their father, Michael Turnbull, leads her to a risky, torrid affair with him. Kristin's anxiety about her guilty secret is heightened by a series of frightening nightmares centering on a vision of four body bags being loaded onto gurneys in front of a prominent Manhattan hotel. Her nightmares also feature recurring encounters with dead people, including her father and the pediatrician who abused her as a child. Kristin's breathless, superficial narration doesn't generate a lot of reader sympathy or interest in figuring out the source of her macabre experiences. Publishers Weekly

Careless in Red by Elizabeth George

"At the start of bestseller George's stellar new suspense novel, the grieving Thomas Lynley, a Scotland Yard detective who left the force after the murder of his pregnant wife, Helen, in With No One as Witness (2005), is filling his days with a long trek in his native Cornwall.During his ramble, Lynley stumbles on the body of teenager Santo Kerne, who apparently fell from a cliff onto some rocks, though it soon becomes evident that someone tampered with Kerne's climbing gear.As the first on the scene, Lynley himself comes under suspicion, despite his lack of history with the victim, by the investigating officer, the capable but crusty Det. Insp. Bea Hannaford. Lynley fittingly plays a secondary role in the homicide inquiry as he continues to struggle to find a reason for living after his devastating loss.The plausible resolution of the crime leaves enough ambiguity to satisfy readers who prefer psychologically sophisticated plots and motivations. 10-city author tour. (May) " Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

Cheating at Solitaire by Jane Haddon

"At the start of Haddam's stellar 22nd Gregor Demarkian whodunit (after 2007's Glass Houses ), Demarkian is finally about to marry his longtime significant other, Bennis Hannaford. When the extensive wedding preparations take their toll, the detective welcomes the chance to leave his native Philadelphia and investigate a high-profile crime on the Martha's Vineyard — like island of Margaret 's Harbor, where Arrow Normand, a Britney Spears — like pop icon, and her current boyfriend, Mark Anderman, had been filming a movie. During a raging nor'easter, Anderman was shot to death and Normand later arrested as the prime suspect. Plunged into the world of superficial celebrities, the traditional Demarkian struggles to identify the motive behind the murder as well as solve the bizarre mutilation of a local photojournalist and yet another killing. Haddam provides a completely fair and logical solution, even if it's not her twistiest, and to her credit, she examines the shallow lives of Normand and her crowd with some sympathy." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

The Doomsters by Ross MacDonald

Hired by Carl Hallman, the desperate-eyed junkie scion of an obscenely wealthy political dynasty, detective Lew Archer investigates the suspicious deaths of his parents, Senator Hallman and his wife Alicia. Arriving in the sleepy town of Purissima , Archer discovers that orange groves may be where the Hallmans made their mint, but they've has been investing heavily in political intimidation and police brutality to shore up their rancid wealth. However, after years of dastardly double-crossing and low down dirty-dealing, the family seem to be on the receiving end of a karmic death-blow. With two dead already and another consigned to the nuthouse, Archer races to crack the secret before another Hallman lands on the slab. the publisher

The Fisher Boy by Stephen Anable

The summer is anything but humorous for Boston comic Mark Winslow as he struggles to break into the Provincetown club circuit. A public fight makes him the prime suspect in a grisly murder, and his choice seems simple: find the killer or be charged with the crime. Mark tries to unravel a mystery involving Boston bluebloods, a defunct prep school, a kidnapped child, and a Norse-inspired cult complete with rune stone and Tree of Life hung with bells and umbilical cords. Somehow, a disappearance eighty years in the past and a famous old painting, The Fisher Boy, are casting a very contemporary pall of evil over all of the people in Mark's life. They include: Miriam Hilliard, the jewelry maker/heiress who refuses to name the father of her three-year-old daughter; Edward Babineaux, the seductive runaway found sleeping on the beach in back of a philanthropist's mansion; Roberto Schreiber, Marks' volatile actor colleague; and the reclusive Lucas Mikkonen. This book is also a portrait of a summer resort, with its craft shops and nude beaches, art galleries and clam shacks, where June brings new transients—actors, waiters, con men, and street children claiming to be from a visiting tall ship—and fresh undercurrents of sex and risk. the publisher

The Mercy Oak by Kathryn R. Wall

"Coyotes, the two-legged kind that run illegals into the U.S. and then blackmail them to pay off exorbitant fees, play a prominent role in Wall's provocative eighth Bay Tanner mystery (after 2007's Sanctuary Hill ). When Bay, a South Carolina Lowcountry PI, hears about an unidentified Hispanic girl killed in a hit-and-run, Bobby Santiago, her housekeeper's son, fears the victim might be his political activist girlfriend, Serena Montalvo. After the dead girl is identified as Serena's 16-year-old sister, Theresa, Bobby and Serena disappear. Bobby's parents, Dolores and Hector Santiago, are terrified and won't cooperate with Bay or local authorities. When Dolores vanishes, Bay is frantic. A string of bank robberies attracts the notice of FBI Special Agent Harry Reynolds, who warns Bay not to get involved. When Homeland Security adds its warning, Bay knows she's on to something major. Wall neatly illustrates the dangers hopeful immigrants can encounter as they pursue the American dream." Publishers Weekly

The Miracle at Speedy Motors by Alexander McCall Smith

Mma Ramotswe is busy investigating her latest case: a woman who is looking for her family. The problem is, the woman doesn't know her real name of whether any members of her family are now living. Meanwhile, Phuti Radiphuti has bought Mma Makutsi a glorious new bed. Unfortunately, it will inadvertently cause her several sleepless nights. And life is no less complicated at Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors, where Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni--Mma Ramotswe's estimable husband--has fallen under the sway of a doctor who has promised a miracle cure for his daughter's medical condition, which Mma Ramotswe finds hard to believe. But Precious Ramotswe deals with these difficulties with her usual grace and good humor, and in the end discovers that the biggest miracles in life are often the small ones. the publisher

Roux Morgue by Claire M. Johnson

"The growing rift between the 'dinosaurs' and the 'young brats' on the teaching staff at San Francisco's cole d'Epicure fuels the highly amusing action in Johnson's superior second cozy to feature funky pastry chef Mary Ryan (after 2002's Beat Until Stiff ). Mary is unpleasantly surprised when Inspector O'Connor of SFPD homicide shows up as a student claiming he's on stress leave. Although the cop is her ex-husband's married best friend, Ryan and the sexy O'Connor have obvious chemistry. Tension among cole's chefs escalates with public insults, a petition to fire one of the classically trained dinosaurs and a water fight in the school's prestigious restaurant. When one chef dies after an allergic shellfish reaction with no shellfish on the menu, and another is strangled at home, Ryan suspects something more sinister than differences of culinary theory. In one of many farcical scenes, Ryan enlists the aid of a hostile friend-of-a-friend to hack into cole's computer system to dig for answers. This enjoyable romp should gain Johnson new fans." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

Shimura Trouble by Sajata Massey

"In Agatha-winner Massey's engaging 10th mystery to feature antiques dealer and part-time spy Rei Shimura (after 2006's Girl in a Box ), Rei and her father, who's recovering from a stroke, travel from California to Hawaii for a family celebration with previously unknown Shimura relatives, who turn out to be involved in a legal battle to recover land stolen from them during WWII. After Michael Hendricks, Rei's CIA colleague and current love interest, arrives in Honolulu , he helps Rei access classified information that may help to resolve the land issue, but something more sinister thickens the plot. Wildfires have been plaguing the leeward side of Oahu , where Rei and her relatives have rented a house. When Rei's newfound nephew, Braden, is arrested for arson, Rei joins Michael in a risky ploy to get evidence exonerating Braden. An appealing protagonist and memorable supporting characters blend smoothly with lessons in Hawaiian and Japanese history in a tale sure to win new readers for the series. (June) " Publishers Weekly

Silent Witness by Michael Norman

In Norman 's solid sequel to his well-received debut, The Commission (2007), cops Sam Kincaid and Kate McConnell try to unsnarl a tangle of crimes in Salt Lake City . First, Kate investigates the brutal murder of one witness to a botched armored car robbery, followed by the disappearance of the other witness. Then Sam, head of "a unit within the Utah Department of Corrections called the Special Investigations Branch," gets involved because the gang's mastermind is "prophet" Walter Bradshaw, a fanatical Mormon polygamist currently awaiting trial for the armored car holdup. Meanwhile, Sam has to cope with a new, excessively by-the-book boss and a lawsuit from his ex-wife seeking custody of their daughter. As personal and bureaucratic tensions almost sidetrack the investigators, Sam and Kate have to prove how smart and stubborn they are. Norman isn't an especially slick author, but he has a good grasp of police procedure and writes with the same dogged, decent persistence that Sam displays. Publishers Weekly

Still Shot by Jerry Kennealy

"Kennealy deals another winning hand in his second Carroll Quint mystery (after 2007's Jigsaw ). Quint, an entertainment writer for the San Francisco Bulletin , reports to editor-in-chief Katherine 'the Great' Parkham, who's worried about the Bulletin 's possible acquisition by Sir Charles Talbot, a media magnate and famed art collector. Hoping to prevent the paper's sale, Parkham asks poker expert Quint to uncover how Talbot's son, Charlie, cheats at cards. Meanwhile, Quint's mother, a former Hollywood actress, asks him to investigate the recent Sausalito 'suicide' of an old friend, aspiring actress Ulla Kjeldsen (aka Vicky Vandamn), who once dated Talbot Sr. Quint discovers that Vicky died while working on a scandalous memoir, which has since disappeared. The murder of an art curator and the disappearance of a Picasso painting from Talbot Sr.'s collection send Quint on a wild ride for answers that will keep readers turning the pages." Publishers Weekly

Sweet Water by Paul Charles

"In the satisfying eighth Det. Insp. Kennedy mystery, Kennedy picks up a missing person case in London 's Camden Town while easing back into work following an injury sustained in 2004's The Justice Factory . Elderly and prosperous, John Riley has simply vanished, leaving few clues. While swapping notes with Father O'Connor, a priest who knows Riley's wife and is assisting the investigators, Kennedy forms a friendship with O'Connor's genial friend Harry Ford. Then Ford is stabbed to death. Feeling personal loss and responsibility, Kennedy takes on the murder investigation, determined that Ford and his family will have justice. The clues are there for armchair sleuths, and the murder method one of the most bizarre ever devised. Charles adeptly fills in backstory without slowing the plot or interrupting the narrative flow. This series deserves recognition on a par with those of Inspectors Jury, Morse and Tennyson. (Nov.) " Publishers Weekly

The Umbrella Man by Roger Silverwood

When an arsonist and murderer threatens to set fire to the local MP's home, Detective Inspector Michael Angel has two suspects: one has disappeared, the other is locked up in a cell. But what do twelve umbrellas found hanging from his bedroom ceiling mean? Will the umbrella man be able to execute his threat while still in police custody? Meanwhile, the murder of a famous stage magician's assistant appears to be a copy of an unsolved crime committed twenty-five years previously. Could both cases be related? The DI must race against the clock to unravel this strange and chilling mystery. the publisher

Waterloo Sunset by Martin Edwards

"At the start of the impressive eighth entry in Edwards's Harry Devlin series ( All the Lonely People , etc.), the Liverpool attorney receives a fake newspaper notice announcing his death on Midsummer's Eve. Subsequent threatening messages lead him to take the less-than-a-week deadline seriously. Given Devlin's penchant for sticking his nose where it doesn't belong, many people bear him murderous grudges. Devlin focuses on two suspects — Tom Gunter, a violent thug and a former client, and Aled Borth, a loner angered that the lawyer's best efforts didn't result in a charge of murder being brought against the nursing home where Borth's mother died. The addition of a serial killer who severs his victim's tongues might have proven too much for the plot to bear in a lesser writer's hands, but Edwards skillfully weaves the strands together. While some readers will guess the truth before Devlin does, all will enjoy this twisty whodunit." Publishers Weekly

And Less Than Kind by Mercedes Lackey and Roberta Gellis

When it became certain that Edward VI was dying, the duke of Northumberland, who had been ruling England in his name, made a plan that would let him hold onto his power. He dared not let Mary come to the throne because she was fiercely Catholic and he had espoused the Protestant cause. He did not want Elizabeth to rule because he knew her imperious nature would never defer to him. But there was more than one puppet master at work: The evil elf-lord Vidal Dhu had no intention of losing the flood of power the misery of Mary's reign would bring the Dark Court , and intervened so that Mary was proclaimed queen. Urged by her Chancellor and the Imperial ambassador to order Elizabeth 's death, Mary chose a different to insure that Elizabeth would never reign. She must marry and bear a child to be the Catholic heir. Vidal Dhu, replete with power from the pain and terror of Mary's burning of heretics, agreed with Mary. Vidal Dhu had very special plans for that child. And since Oberon and Titania had disappeared, there now was no one except the double pair of twins to stand between the mortals of England and the rule of Evil. the editors

Deluge (Twins of Petaybee Series #3) by Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough

Precocious twin selkies Ronan and Muriel set out for their heroic third mission (after 2007's Maelstrom ): rescuing an old friend who's been wrongfully imprisoned. Petaybee has been invaded by troops intending to arrest the twins' parents and others for aiding Marmion de Revers Algemeine's evacuation of the endangered inhabitants of Kanaka. Marmion herself is languishing in the Gwinnet Incarceration Colony. Ronan and Muriel dodge the soldiers and hitch a ride with space-faring deep-sea otters to reach Versailles Station, Marmion's home base, where they hope to beg influential Federation friends for help. Instead they wind up incarcerated with other youngsters at Gwinnet's Camp Neverland and cruelly tortured until their special skills and friends (including Zuzu, a telepathic cat) help them survive a tsunami and volcanic eruption and complete their mission. This concluding volume of the twins' trilogy will primarily appeal to young, animal-loving SF fans.

Free Fall by Laura Anne Gilman

Picking up shortly after the devastating battle between humans and fey atop the Brooklyn Bridge in 2007's Burning Bridges , Gilman's compelling fifth foray into the fantastic netherworld of modern-day Manhattan takes an even darker turn. Most of the surviving members of the Cosa Nostradamus, an informal collective of demon Fatae and magic-using human Talents, have retreated into hiding, while the Silence, a violently anti-fey covert organization, has regrouped under the leadership of a dangerous fanatic. When Wren Valere, a professional thief and Talent, takes on a simple smash-and-grab job that turns out to be a setup, she swears to stop the Silence and their fey-hunting vigilantes once and for all. With streamlined prose, Gilman deftly weaves intricate plot threads and complex relationships into an almost painful buildup of violent suspense. The result is an intelligent and utterly gripping fantasy thriller, by far the best of the Retrievers series to date. Publishers Weekly

Singularity's Ring by Paul Melko

This superior debut initially resembles a straightforward YA adventure but abruptly veers into much stranger territory. Various factions struggle for control of the Ring, a colossal space station built around Earth by engineers who turned most of humankind into a group mind called the Community, which promptly figured out how to access other realities and vanished from this one. The few remaining humans genetically engineer their children to form "pods" of individuals so closely bonded that they function as one person. After stumbling on secret research during a training exercise, the teenage pod called Apollo Papadopulos soon find themselves on the run from shadowy forces who want to seduce or kill them. The setting extends from Earth orbit to the Amazon jungle, and the action ranges from a tense space rescue to an almost idyllic trek through the Rockies with a family of genetically altered bears. Though some loose plot ends dangle a bit, the ingenious character development and startling images and ideas are deeply satisfying.