Fiction, December 2004

General Fiction |Mysteries |Horror/Science Fiction/Fantasy

General Fiction

Bedford, Deborah: Just Between Us (December 2004)

Author Bedford pens the moving story of a woman who becomes a Big Sister to a pregnant teen in gratitude to God for having been adopted into a wonderful, faith-filled family. She then falls in love with the teenager's widowed father.
Bonanno, Bill: The Good Guys (January 2005)

The authors' extraordinary lives and experiences infuse this novel with chilling true-to-life details and a real insider's perspective. Bonanno is a former high-ranking member of a crime family, and Pistone is a former undercover FBI agent.
Cadwalladr, Carole: The Family Tree (January 2005)

At once nostalgic and original, this is a sophisticated story of one woman and the generations of women who came before her whose legacies shaped her life.
Chouaki, Aziz: The Star of Algiers (January 2005)

Moussa Massy's ambitions extend far beyond the three-room apartment he shares with the other 13 members of his family in Algiers. A gifted performer of modern Kabyle song, he is as inspired by Prince and Michael Jackson as he is by Arab and Algerian traditional music. His first taste of fame, however, is brief, as the conflict between the fundamentalist Islamic group FIS and the more progressive FLN grows more violent and the city comes to a standstill amid corruption and scandal. As his music career begins to disintegrate, like the city itself, Massy's driving passion for music turns to unforgiving rage.
Coleman, Carter: Cage's Bend (January 2005)

Told in alternating voices, Cage's Bend is the dramatic story of the unraveling of a tight-knit Southern family. Damaged by tragedy and unfulfilled dreams, the members are nonetheless renewed by the unshakable bonds of love.
Cornwell, Bernard: The Last Kingdom (January 2005)

In this epic novel, bestselling author Cornwell follows King Alfred the Great and his desperate quest to keep England from falling into the hands of the Danish conquerors.
Coupland, Douglas: Eleanor Rigby (January 2005)

Liz Dunn's quiet existence is upended by young Jeremy, a charming lost soul who triggers a chain of events that takes Liz to the other side of the world and back, endangering her life just as a real chance at happiness finally seems within reach.
Durham, David Anthony: Pride of Carthage: A Novel of Hannibal (January 2005)

Featuring a vast cast of characters and nationalities, twists of fate and tales of inspired leadership, this epic work of literary fiction chronicles the superb military leader of Carthage, Hannibal Barca, and his struggle against the mighty Roman Republic.
Durrant, Sabine: The Great Indoors (January 2005)

The author of Having It and Eating It delivers this engaging new novel about a single woman who owns an antique shop in the suburbs of London, and how she deals with changing relationships with her family and the men in her life.
Fairstein, Linda A.: Entombed (January 2005)

In the latest thriller from bestselling author Fairstein, Alexandra Cooper matches wits with Edgar Allan Poe as she probes the haunting shadows of New York's literary history.
Galland, Nicole: The Fool's Tale (January 2005)

Combining the historical detail of Sarum with the spellbinding narrative of The Other Boleyn Girl, Gallard has created a captivating debut tale of loyalty, politics, love and betrayal set in the wilds of 12th century Wales.
Gordon, Mary: Pearl (January 2005)

From the author of Final Payments comes a gripping novel of filial devotion and complication between a mother and daughter who, together and separately, must face the ultimate questions of life and death.
Gruber, Michael: Valley of Bones (January 2005)

Gruber explores the nature of faith and madness in this brilliantly conceived follow-up to Tropic of Night, his debut thriller novel.
Guterson, Mary: We Are All Fine Here (January 2005)

An irresistible and slyly exquisite story of a pregnant woman (married with a teenage son) who has never really stopped dreaming about her college boyfriend — and whose baby she might be carrying.
Gutierrez, Pedro Juan: Tropical Animal (January 2005)

Echoing the raw vitality of Henry Miller, Tropical Animal brings the return of the already infamous Pedro Juan, the seductive protagonist at the heart of the Dirty Havana trilogy.
Haigh, Jennifer: Baker Towers (January 2005)

The author of Mrs. Kimble returns with an emotionally rich and evocative exploration of community, love and family set in a western Pennsylvania coal town in the years following World War II.
Hart, Lenore: Ordinary Springs (January 2005)

The author of Waterwoman delves into the heart of a girl just old enough to turn her life upside down.
Israel, David: Behind Everyman (January 2005)

Israel tells the story of Everyman, who is in his late twenties, works a mind-numbing job in Manhattan, goes to therapy and yearns for true love and a creative outlet for his screenwriting aspirations.
Jensen, Liz: The Ninth Life of Louis Drax (January 2005)

Meet Louis Drax, the Amazing Accident-Prone Boy, in this story of a family falling apart, and told in the vivid voices of its comatose son and of medical specialist Dr. Pascal Dannachet.
King, Dave: The Ha-Ha (January 2005)

When a mute war veteran opens his home to a young boy, he gets a glimpse of life outside his shell — with all its exuberant joys and crushing sorrows.
Korelitz, Jean Hanff: The White Rose (January 2005)

Passion, infidelity, social climbing, cross-dressing and one very special white rose weave a seductive narrative in this intelligent and tender novel of one's own place and time. The lesson learned is that love is seldom straightforward, but always a gift.
Lapcharoensap, Rattawut: Sightseeing: Stories (January 2005)

Set in contemporary Thailand and written with a grace and sophistication that belie the age of its young author, this new collection contains generous, tender tales of family bonds, youthful romance, generational conflicts and cultural shifts beneath the glossy surface of a warm setting.
Ma Jian: The Noodle Maker (January 2005)

From the acclaimed Ma Jian comes a satirical novel about the absurdities and cruelties of life in post-Tiananmen China, allowing a humorous yet profound glimpse of those struggling to survive under a system that dictates their every move.
Marquit, Amanda: Shut the Door (January 2005)

A teenage talent brings a mature voice to the topic of family dysfunction.
McCall-Smith, Alexander: Portuguese Irregular Verbs (January 2005)

The first book in a new series by the author of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency introduces the eminent (if shamefully under-read) philologist Professor Dr. Mortiz-Maria von Igelfeld of the Institute at Regensburg. Portuguese Irregular Verbs follows the Professor from a busman's holiday researching old Irish obscenities to a flirtation with a desirable lady dentist.
McCall-Smith, Alexander: The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs (January 2005)

In the second book Professor von Igelfeld practices veterinary medicine without a license, transports relics for a schismatically challenged Coptic prelate and is mobbed by marriage-minded widows on board a Mediterranean cruise ship.
McCall-Smith, Alexander: At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances (January 2005)

The third book finds Professor von Igelfeld suffering the slings of academic intrigue as a visiting fellow at Cambridge, and the slings of outrageous fortune in an eventful Columbian adventure.
McKinty, Adrian: Hidden River (January 2005)

In this noir thriller from a major new talent, a young Irish ex-cop travels half a world away to investigate the murder of a beautiful girl he once loved.
McLarty, Ron: The Memory of Running (January 2005)

McLarty tells the story of Smithson Ide, a 43-year-old, 279-pound supervisor at a GI Joe factory who begins a cross-country journey on his old Raleigh bicycle to retrieve the body of his beautiful, mentally disturbed sister.
Murakami, Haruki: Kafka on the Shore (January 2005)

Kafka Tamura, a teenage runaway, and Nakata, an aging simpleton, embark on a mysterious odyssey and encounter talking cats, rainstorms of fish and a forest of soldiers unaged since World War II. There is a brutal murder, with the identity of both victim and perpetrator a riddle — yet this, along with everything else, is eventually answered, just as the entwined destinies of Kafka and Nakata are gradually revealed, with one escaping his fate entirely and the other given a fresh start on his own.
Nicholson, William: The Society of Others (January 2005)

With all the pace and thrust of a thriller, the hero in The Society of Others is propelled into a dizzying sequence of increasingly terrifying Kafka-esque adventures as he tries to understand the bloody struggle between secret police and a band of equally ruthless and fanatical freedom fighters, and his own role in that struggle.
Noble, Elizabeth: The Reading Group (January 2005)

What starts out as a lark of an idea, born from a glass of wine and a need to socialize, turns into a forum for five very different women who walk complicated paths — but soon discover the power and importance of friendship.
Noire: G-Spot: An Urban Erotic Tale (by) (January 2005)

A 19-year-old extricates herself and her younger brother from the deadly control of her boyfriend, who is a sex club owner and powerful drug dealer.
Perrin, Kayla: Gimme an O! (January 2005)

The national bestselling author of Tell Me You Love Me and Say You Need Me presents a novel that is sure to leave fans cheering.
Power, Nani: The Sea of Tears (January 2005)

From the widely acclaimed author comes a new novel of love, lust, discovery and the strangely interwoven tales of three lonely inhabitants of an old Washington, D.C., hotel.
Rawles, Nancy: My Jim (January 2005)

A spare and beautiful meditation on love and loss, this novel follows the life of Sadie, the abandoned wife of the escaped slave Jim from Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
Rimington, Stella: At Risk (January 2005)

Drawing from her experience as the first woman director general of MI5, Rimington offers a story that is smart and tautly drawn from first page to last. At Risk is a suspenseful debut novel that plunges readers headlong into today's shadowy and fever-pitched battle between terrorism and Intelligence.
Robbins, David L: Liberation Road: A Novel of World War II and the Red Ball Express (January 2005)

In the seven-month struggle following D-Day, the Allied forces faced an enemy nearly as deadly as the Axis: lack of supplies for the American lines as they swept west, pushing the Germans out of France and back toward Berlin and defeat. Thus was formed the Red Ball Express, the lifeline which fed the Allied effort to end the bloodbath of World War II. Overwhelmingly manned by African American troops, the soldiers of the Red Ball Express were a unique band of combatants: back home, their loyalties and intelligence were questioned, but in a war that had to be won, their courage and their willingness to fight and die for their country were never in doubt.
Robinson, C. Kelly: The Strong, Silent Type (January 2005)

The #1 Essence bestselling author is back with the touching and memorable story of an athlete and a single mother who experiences the hard bargain between healing and forgiveness — and the unexpected joys that come from taking risks.
Russell, Mary Doria: A Thread of Grace (January 2005)

Set in Italy during the dramatic finale of World War II, this new novel is the first in seven years by the author of The Sparrow and Children of God.
Sittenfeld, Curtis: Prep (January 2005)

A perceptive, achingly funny first novel featuring a middle-class Midwestern teenager trying to fit in at an elite East Coast boarding school, Prep is also a brilliant dissection of class, race and gender in a hothouse of adolescent angst and ambition.
Ullman, Linn: Grace (January 2005)

When Johan was a boy, he bargained with Death, and in good time Death obligingly took his father. And when Johan was miserably married, Death kindly took his first wife, leaving him a tidy sum. But now, with the Reaper coming for him, Johan cries out for certainties, for control, for dignity. He enlists his adoring second wife, the grace of his otherwise mean existence, to be his reluctant angel of death. As Johan, his wife beside him, slips under the solitary shadow he fears most, we are made to witness the muted tragedy of the Scandinavian way — now more and more our own way — of dying.
Vreeland, Susan: Life Studies: Stories (January 2005)

In this collection of finely crafted historical and contemporary stories, Vreeland transports readers through time, from Paris in the 1840s, to post-World War II Venice and Rome to present-day California, allowing them to witness the inspiration behind — and in some cases the creationof — great works of art.
Wall, Paula: The Rock Orchard (January 2005)

Blending sensuality, wisdom and wry wit to create a truly unique love story, Paula Wall's novel is about powerful men, the power of God and the ultimate power of extraordinary women.
Williams, Adam: The Palace of Heavenly Pleasure (December 2004)

In this sweeping Far Eastern epic in the tradition of James Clavell, as the Boxer Rebellion erupts in China a cast of innocents, fanatics, sinners and lovers are drawn to an infamous brothel that overlooks an execution ground.
Whorton, James: Frankland (January 2005)

In his second hilarious novel, the author of the highly acclaimed Approximately Heaven tells the wry and ribald story of an academician's ambitious quest for glory in rural Tennessee.
Yalom, Irvin D.: The Schopenhauer Cure (January 2005)

A cast of memorably wounded characters struggles to heal pain and change lives in this novel of group therapy by a master therapist and acclaimed writer.

Mysteries

Dickinson, David: Death of a Chancellor (January 2005)

England, 1901: Beautiful Compton Cathedral in the west of England is preparing for a special anniversary to celebrate 1000 years of Christian worship. But a few weeks before the ceremonies are due to take place, the Chancellor, a high official of the cathedral, dies in mysterious circumstances. It soon transpires that the Chancellor was one of the richest men in England, and his sister, suspecting foul play, invites well-bred investigator Lord Francis Powerscourt to step in. As Powerscourt paces the ancient cloisters and listens to evensong, he begins to suspect that a terrible secret lies hidden in the cathedral, and it might have something to do with the anniversary.
Eidson, Bill: The Mayday (January 2005)

The Mayday is the second installment of a new series featuring ex-DEA Agent Jack Merchant and boat repo contractor Sarah Ballard. This time they are searching for a man's wife and children, missing on the high seas.
Fulmer, David: Jass (January 2005)

In the rowdy red-light district of Storyville, four players of the new music they call "jass" have turned up dead. When Creole detective Valentin St. Cyr begins to investigate, he discovers every victim once played in the same band, and the only one left alive has gone into hiding.
Gardner, Lisa: Alone (January 2005)

When a sniper with the Massachusetts State Police SWAT Team saves a woman and her young son by shooting her armed husband, he finds himself in a twisted minefield of sordid wealth and family secrets--and a lot of trouble.
Granger, Pip: Trouble in Paradise (January 2005)

The end of World War II in Europe spreads joy through London, but for Zelda Fluck the news isn't all good. The end to hostilities will bring her violent husband Charlie home. A new boss is making Zelda's life difficult and her nephew, Tony, is hanging around Brian Hole, a one-boy crime wave and only child of Ma Hole, leader of the local spivs. Bert and Maggie Featherby offer her a way out of her failed marriage, while the local hood, Maltese Joe, decides to take on Ma Hole. The book ends with the birth of Rosie, the child narrator of Pip Granger's Agatha Award Nominee Not All Tarts are Apple.
Graves, Sarah: Tool & Die (December 2004)

In the seventh installment in the Home Repair is Homicide series, former power broker Jacobia "Jake" Tiptree agrees to find out if her housekeeper Bella Diamond's ex-husband Jim has been sending her life-threatening letters. When Jim is found dead in his apartment, Jake finds herself at the center of a murder with too many suspects and too few clues.
Greenwood, Kerry: Away With the Fairies (January 2005)

Searching for the murderer of a famous author, sexy, sassy Phryne Fisher goes undercover — and is up to her ears in fashion gossip and office politics.
Gur, Batya: Bethlehem Road Murder: A Michael Ohayon Mystery (December 2004)

The body of a young woman whose face has been smashed is found in the attic of a house in the Arab quarter south of West Jerusalem, launching a complex and fascinating murder investigation set against the background of tensions between Jews and Arabs.
Hewson, David: The Villa of Mysteries (January 2005)

In Rome's crowded Campo dei Fiori, a woman rushes up to two "carabinieri," insisting that her 16-year-old daughter has just been abducted. But Detective Nic Costa knows what the two officers don't: in the local morgue, a forensic pathologist is examining the strange, mummified corpse of girl whose disappearance and death bear haunting similarities.
McBain, Ed: Alice in Jeopardy: A Novel (January 2005)

Since her husband's tragic death, Alice Glendenning has struggled to maintain a normal life. Things turn nightmarish when her children disappear, and the ransom demand is identical to the amount due from insurance after her husband's death.
McGown, Jill: Unlucky for Some: A Novel of Suspense (January 2005)

Detective Chief Inspectors Lloyd and Hill are on the case again when a woman is murdered outside her apartment and the only witness is a well-known journalist.
McKevett, G. A.: Murder a la Mode: A Savannah Reid Mystery (January 2005)

Voluptuous private eye Savannah Reid's cravings for tasty treats come second only to her appetite for adventure. In her tenth mystery, Savannah tracks down a diabolical murderer on the set of a reality TV show.
Murphy, Shirley Rousseau: Cat Cross Their Graves: A Joe Grey Mystery (January 2005)

Wily tomcat Joe Grey, his best pal Dulcie and their tattercoat friend Kit join forces to track the killer of a much-beloved actress.
Nicholson, Deborah: Evening the Score (January 2005)

Kate Carpenter, the front-of-house manager of Calgary's largest theatre company, has just returned from a well-earned vacation after the murder of a patron in her theatre's lobby and the mayhem of the ensuing investigation left her more than a little stressed. She had been looking forward to a return to normality working at the theatre, adjusting to her new life with her boyfriend, Cam, and planning a surprise birthday party for her chief usher, Graham. Instead, what she gets is a flooded concert hall that results in a huge piano competition being moved to her theatre. The appearance of her old college boyfriend along with his wife and daughter, followed by a surprise visit from her mother and a dead body hanging from the second balcony of her theatre can only mean more problems for Kate.
Rankin, Ian: Fleshmarket Alley (January 2005)

An illegal immigrant is found murdered in an Edinburgh housing scheme. Rebus is drawn into the case, but has other problems: his old police station has closed for business, and his masters would rather he retire than stick around. But as Rebus investigates, he must deal with the sleazy Edinburgh underworld, and maybe even fall in love.
Spencer, Sally: The Butcher Beyond (January 2005)

DCI Woodend's first foreign holiday, in General Franco's Spain, ends abruptly when he sees a fellow guest plunge mysteriously from his hotel balcony to the rocky beach below. With the help of Paco Ruiz, a former policeman living in disgrace since the Spanish Civil War, Woodend embarks on an unofficial investigation which provides more questions than answers. It soon becomes plain to Woodend that the roots of the case stretch back 30 years and that if he is ever to solve it, he must confront history itself.
Wilson, Robert: The Vanished Hands (January 2005)

Javier Falcon begins to investigate a case with no solid evidence when suddenly, in quick succession, two suicides occur. Left to discover what made life so unbearable for these victims, Falcon's task is to find the connection — or were they murdered?

Horror/Science Fiction/Fantasy

Cash, Steve: The Meq (January 2005)

When his parents die suddenly, leaving him alone with only a clue to his true heritage as a member of the non-human Meq race, 12-year-old Zianno begins a search to unravel the mystery of his people+ and to stop the evil Meq Known as the "Fleur-du-Mal."
Metzger, Robert A.: Cusp (January 2005)

The Nebula Award–nominated author takes readers on an ambitious odyssey into Earth's future.
Nicholls, Stan: The Covenant Rising: Book One of the Dreamtime (January 2005)

In the land of Bhealfa, magic defines and controls the social order. But the most powerful and expensive spells are used by the authorities to control the entire population. Reeth Caldason is one of the last remaining members of a warrior race that was brutally massacred decades ago. Cursed with episodes of blind, uncontrollable rage, he is forced to wander the world seeking revenge for his people and a cure for his magical affliction. But the spell that binds Reeth is highly mysterious, and only when a young sorcerer's apprentice tells him of the mysterious Covenant does he regain a glimmer of hope. Forming an uneasy alliance, the two head for Bhealfa's capital city in search of the secretive magical society, unaware that they are about to be drawn into a dangerous world of conspiracy and treachery.
Reynolds, Alastair: Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days (January 2005)

The award-winning author returns to the "Revelation Space" universe, with two novellas of interstellar exploration.
Robson, Justina: Natural History (January 2005)

In the far future, humanity has engineered itself into dazzling new forms capable of spaceflight, the terraforming of planets and the exploration of the deepest oceans. Evolution has reached a new zenith, and it seems there is no environment we cannot conquer. But when an interstellar voyager meets a piece of alien technology in a head-on collision, a new realm is unveiled...both more spectacular and more terrifying than we ever imagined. Natural History was shortlisted for the 2003 British Science Fiction Association Award and has been named one of the "Top Ten Science Fiction Books by Women" by the Guardian.
Turtledove, Harry: Homeward Bound (January 2005)

The arrival of humans on the Lizard homeworld causes a huge uproar and they begin to consider the need to destroy the Earth, rather than let the humans continue.