First-time novelist Neil Abramson is a partner in a Manhattan law firm, married to a veterinarian. He has written a book that centers on a Manhattan lawyer married to a veterinarian. Before you roll your eyes, take pause. Unsaid is told from the point of view of the lawyer's wife, Helena. Who is dead.

Abramson has incorporated a single element of fantasy (the whole work is narrated by Helena's ghost) into a story that otherwise reads very realistically. The technique is effective: Helena has an opinion on matters as the story unfolds and her omniscient presence allows readers to witness different scenes simultaneously.

Helena's brokenhearted husband, David, grieves for his departed wife as he struggles to care for her beloved menagerie of animals, keep his high-powered career and retain his sanity. When a former colleague of Helena's turns to David for help regarding an extremely gifted chimpanzee, it's a pivotal moment that turns the whole story on its ear. David, fueled by the memory of his dead wife's passion for animals, begins a quest to save this unusual chimp from a battery of torturous experiments such as being injected with HIV, operated on without anesthesia and ultimately killed.

Whether or not you've ever had a pet, and regardless of your feelings about animal rights, you'll be fascinated by the insights offered here and moved to tears at the conclusion of this novel. --Natalie Papailiou, author of blog MILF: Mother I'd Like to Friend

Robert Goolrick's Heading Out to Wonderful uncovers secrets in a small town in this unforgettable story of lost and displaced souls in search of identity, acceptance and belonging. In 1948, Charlie Beale, an attractive, athletic, 39-year-old loner and World War II veteran, wanders into Brownsburg, Va., a quiet community in the Shenandoah Valley of the Blue Ridge Mountains. He carries with him only two suitcases--one packed with all of his worldly possessions, including a set of butcher knives, the other stuffed with money. Offered a job by the local butcher, Charlie is befriended by the shop owner's family, including his precocious five-year-old son, Sam (who tells the story, looking back from the perspective of many years). Charlie and the boy instantly bond, but when Charlie's path intersects with Sylvan Glass, the stunning teenage bride of the richest man in town, life for the three main characters will be forever changed by the ache and storm of love.

Charlie longs to put down roots while Sylvan, trapped in a loveless marriage, tries to carve out a persona for herself via images of captivating Hollywood starlets--and Sam, drawn away from his safe and secure familial environment, bears witness to the all-consuming relationship of the star-crossed lovers. Goolrick (A Reliable Wife) masterfully ratchets up the tension, while evocative sensory detail and spiritual overtones infuse the emotional landscape of a powerful, climactic novel that seeks to define and explore the meaning of love and goodness. --Kathleen Gerard, blogger at Reading Between the Lines

Based on Sophocles' Antigone, The Watch is the story of a fierce firefight at a remote military base in Kandahar Province in Afghanistan. When the sandstorm clears, the attacking Afghans have all been killed, along with two well-liked American soldiers. Before the survivors can recover, a bedraggled figure appears just outside the base's no-cross line. She is Nizam, who has pulled her handcart down the mountain on her war-maimed feet with a shovel and shroud to properly bury her brother, a leader of the attack. From this simple scene, Joydeep Roy-Bhattacharya (The Gabriel Club) brings each of the key characters to complex life. Their voices, from the stilted British-taught English of the interpreter to the first sergeant's Louisiana swamp-talk, draw their individual histories, paranoia and prejudices out onto the novel's stage. Some American soldiers enlist for lack of options at home, some out of obligation, some out of idealism, some out of vengeance. Likewise, some Afghans reluctantly support the U.S. presence out of hatred for past Taliban atrocities, some for the money, some out of tribal strife. Among them, patient Nizam seems to be there only to bury her brother.

The power of Roy-Bhattacharya's novel is his understanding of all the motivations driving his players. None of their reasons is unreasonable... except as perceived by the other side. Is Nizam a decoy for an explosive ambush? Is the interpreter selfishly controlling the negotiations? Is the American captain holding the dead brother's body for propaganda purposes? And is this whole scenario run by absent American generals, Taliban elders and corrupt Afghan politicians? Perhaps the answer to all is yes. --Bruce Jacobs, founding partner, Watermark Books & Cafe, Wichita, Kan.

As the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic sweeps through the European trenches, the work of battlefield nurse Bess Crawford (introduced to readers in 2009's A Duty to the Dead) becomes doubly difficult: she must nurse the wounded and care for hundreds of soldiers stricken by the virus. When an orderly shows Bess the body of a murdered man concealed among the influenza victims waiting for burial, Bess plans to investigate, but falls ill before she can do so. By the time she recovers, the soldier is long buried and the orderly who reported the murder is dead, allegedly by his own hand.

Struggling to regain her strength, Bess returns to England, working in a convalescent clinic while using her father's military connections and her own contacts to glean information about the two victims and their killer. Before long, she realizes the killer is still on the loose--and that she is his next target.

Charles Todd uses Bess's father and his far-reaching network to explain improbable plot coincidences throughout An Unmarked Grave, but in the moment, each clue feels necessary, each piece of information vital. The mud-filled trenches, makeshift aid stations and crowded cities of France and coastal England provide a vivid backdrop to Bess's nursing work and her investigations. Fans will enjoy the reappearance of familiar characters such as Bess's parents and her friend Simon Brandon, even as they wonder when Bess will learn to appreciate Simon's talent for coming to her rescue.

Full of historical detail and dark family secrets, An Unmarked Grave is another fascinating installment in the story of a brave, independent heroine. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams

Starvation Lake, Bryan Gruley's first book, introduced readers to a small town in Northern Michigan populated by a quirky but likable cast of characters whose passion for ice hockey was matched by a penchant for trouble. It also earned Gruley, a Pulitzer-winning former bureau chief for the Wall Street Journal, a nomination for an Edgar for best first novel. The Hanging Tree helped confirm the appeal of protagonist Gus Carpenter, the editor of the local newspaper with a knack for discovering the truth through journalistic instinct.

In The Skeleton Box, the third installment in this series, the residents of Starvation Lake are unsettled by a spate of mysterious break-ins at the homes of several town elders. One of the break-ins leads to the death of the best friend of Gus Carpenter's mother; the victim is also the mother of his ex-girlfriend, Darlene. With the assistance of a new reporter who always seems to be a step ahead, Gus works to uncover the truth behind the burglaries and the murder, but his investigations unearth long-buried secrets that threaten to disquiet the town and disturb his family.

For readers already familiar with the Starvation Lake series, The Skeleton Box will not disappoint, and for those just discovering Gruley's work, it will surely impress.--Roni K. Devlin, owner of Literary Life Bookstore & More

In The Namesake, his third Commissario Alec Blume novel, Conor Fitzgerald delves into the mysterious secrets of the 'Ndrangheta--an organized crime syndicate whose constituent families see it as almost a form of religion.

It all starts simply enough: Blume has been working with magistrate Matteo Arconti to investigate a Roman doctor's "suicide," which quickly leads them to the Megale family--key leaders in one of the branches of the 'Ndrangheta. Then a Milanese insurance adjustor, also named Matteo Arconti, is found dead outside the court buildings where Magistrate Arconti works. Blume and his girlfriend, Inspector Caterina Mattiola, quickly realize the dead Arconti was harmless, his murder a warning to the magistrate from the 'Ndrangheta.

The violent message assures Blume he and Arconti were on the right track in their investigation, so he sets out on his own to try and get to the Megale family and their burgeoning crime network in Germany. Caterina is furious at his maverick techniques, and his collaboration with the federal anti-Mafia forces, certain Blume is putting his own life at risk.

Blume's arrogance and stubbornness make him frustrating to both his fellow law enforcement agents and the criminals trying to thwart him. Fitzgerald's writing brings a realistic immediacy to Blume's complicated character, making the reader root for him to win despite his many flaws. The Namesake is both a gripping mystery and a fascinating look at organized crime in contemporary Italy. --Jessica Howard, blogger at Quirky Bookworm

When Nathalie Jordi, David Carrell and Joel Horowitz decided to sell ice pops made from local, sustainable produce at a food market in New York City, they had no intention of reinventing the well-loved American treat. But soon their humble flea market stand grew into an enterprise with both permanent and pop-up shops, sales to Whole Foods and a host of wonderful ice pop recipes under their belt. The logical next step was to share the recipes with the world, and so began People's Pops, a collection of 55 recipes for ice pops, shave ice and boozy pops--and a celebration of "those refreshing little nuggets of fruit and sugar and ice, crystallized summer."

These are not your standard single-fruit-flavored ice pops, however, but seasonal creations of DIY delight. The authors begin with the basics, giving readers an overview of "pop-making fundamentals," ranging from advice on picking the best fruit (they recommend slightly overripe local produce) to the beauties of infused simple syrups and the trick to incorporating booze in pops and still winding up with a frozen product. Then, and only then, do they launch into their inspired and creative flavor combinations, organized into chapters by season. For a refreshing spring pop, try Cucumber, Elderflower and Tequila; for a summer treat, look to Roasted Nectarine and Basil; and when autumn rolls around, celebrate the last of the fresh produce with Apple and Salted Caramel. The unusual and inventive recipes in People's Pops are sure to inspire the kid in everyone to enjoy a bit of "crystallized summer" once again. --Kerry McHugh, blogger at Entomology of a Bookworm

When Barack Obama spoke out in favor of same-sex marriage last month, it was seen by many as a capstone of several years of stunning gains in gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender civil rights across the U.S. But with anti-gay laws still on the books and no cessation in hate crimes, is it really time to declare Victory? Linda Hirshman may not fully convince readers the battle has been won, but her inclusive and fascinating history of "the triumphant gay revolution" is an excellent primer in what has been accomplished so far.

Hirshman is no stranger to audacious declarations--Get to Work (2006) drew sharp criticism for chastising stay-at-home moms--but this time, she's in full cheerleader mode, ferreting out brave heroes from the darkest days of gay oppression as well as hitting all the requisite subjects (Stonewall, Harvey Milk, ACT-UP, Matthew Shepard) for a popular history of gay rights. Her research and interviews bring forth many provocative ideas ripe for debate. Did the AIDS crisis and the panic that ensued slow the gains of the 1970s, or did the image of the martyred victims finally humanize gay males to the general public? Has the focus on same-sex marriage silenced the more outrageous, non-conforming voices in the movement? These issues, like her titular declaration, are likely to stir passionate debate; hopefully, the value of this sweeping and affectionate history won't be lost in the noise. --Cherie Ann Parker, freelance journalist and book critic

A Midsummer's Nightmare packs in a summer's worth of page-turning drama, the third smartly written book by Kody Keplinger (The DUFF (The Designated Ugly Fat Friend); Shut Out).

Narrator Whitley Johnson wakes up the morning after her high school graduation in a stranger's bed with her worst hangover ever. The stranger is sweet, and he asks Whitley for her number, but she dismisses the previous night as another "drunken hookup," believing she just wouldn't make a good girlfriend. Whitley packs for a summer at her TV anchorman father's condo by Kentucky Lake, away from her mother's endless tirades about his poor life choices and casual relationships. Whitley anticipates a summer of mixed drinks and advice for college from her father. Instead, she learns that he's moved to Hamilton, Ill., to lead a life better suited for his age with his new fiancée, Sylvia, and her kids, 13-year-old daughter Bailey, and her son, Nathan--the stranger from the graduation party.

Keplinger's novel explores an unorthodox relationship between almost stepsiblings through the eyes of a teen whose temperament and witticisms bring to mind Samantha Kingston from Lauren Oliver's Before I Fall--hard to love with potential for redemption. Whitley exhibits loner behavior--"friends are a waste of time"--but can reject social overtures only for so long if she's to turn this nightmarish summer around and discover her true worth. --Adam Silvera, assistant, Books of Wonder, New York

Emmy Laybourne's debut novel begins at a breakneck pace and rarely lets up, as 14 students try to survive a series of cataclysmic events while trapped--or safely sequestered, depending on how one looks at it--inside a Greenway superstore in Monument, Colo.

Caught in an epic hailstorm, a schoolbus driver steers her vehicle through the glass doors of a superstore in order to keep her passengers safe. Laybourne constructs the novel as a journal written by 11th-grader Dean Grieder, whose younger brother also makes it to safety. Dean's keen perceptions quickly orient readers to the cast of characters, among them: Jake, the star quarterback; Brayden, his hothead teammate; a champion diver who's the apple of Jake's eye, as well as Dean's; and Niko, whom they call "Brave Hunter Man." Most of the action plays out among the high school kids, but Laybourne gives each character--including the young children with them--distinct personalities.

Laybourne gets the dynamics of a group trapped together just right. Love triangles emerge, Niko and Jake vie for the leadership role, and Dean embodies the conflicting impulses of wanting to stay present and alive and also wishing to check out by raiding the store's alcohol and pharmaceutical supplies. Laybourne's realistic depictions of the psychologies of her characters and the gamut of emotions that come into play in such extreme circumstances place this a cut above most entries in the dystopic genre. Readers will hope for many more from this talented author. --Jennifer M. Brown, children's editor, Shelf Awareness