Augusta "Gus" Edelman, the 47-year-old narrator of Robin Black's quietly thoughtful first novel, is a modestly successful artist and teacher. Her husband, Owen, has published a few well-received but sparsely read small-press books. They are mostly content in their shared life, until Gus has a brief, intense affair with the father of one of her students. Life Drawing is Gus's story--not only of her marriage and regrettable infidelity, but also of the untimely death of her young mother when Gus was a toddler, the loss to cancer of her oldest sister and the increasing dementia of her father. The creative impulse of her art sustains her, even when "what seemed unimaginably exhilarating gets bogged down... and then it is work. Then it is hard."

After he learns of Gus's affair, Owen is willing to hang on. They use a small inheritance to leave the city and purchase a farmhouse, isolated enough from former distractions that they can attempt to repair their marriage. But when an attractive divorced 50-year-old woman rents the farm next door, her unexpected intrusion disrupts their solitary rural retreat and tragically shakes the fragile balance of Gus and Owen's marriage.

Black (If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This) probes the vicissitudes of a mature marriage with an understanding of the effort it takes to make one work, aptly capturing its uneasy heart: "We are a universe. You and me. Our own f**ked up, beautiful, inexplicable universe." That may not be much, but in a world of irrevocably broken marriages, it may just be enough. --Bruce Jacobs, founding partner, Watermark Books & Cafe, Wichita, Kan.

Flavia Albia, a "private informer" in First Century Rome, has her own rules for taking on new cases: never do favors for friends or family; don't take on clients who are unable to pay; avoid working with anyone you find attractive. Although her latest case--a burglary and double murder of middle-class, middle-aged newlyweds--breaks all those rules, Albia can't resist. The result is a highly entertaining journey through the streets of ancient Rome.

In her second Flavia Albia novel, Lindsey Davis (author of a series featuring Albia's father, Marcus Didius Falco) explores a widespread social problem in Rome, where slaves far outnumbered their masters. If a head of household was murdered at home, the crime was automatically blamed on his slaves, who would be executed unless another culprit was found. Knowing this, Albia interviews the dead couple's slaves, their steward (a freedman) and several neighbors. In the seemingly happy household, she uncovers a nest of small jealousies, betrayals and complicated loyalties. Since her colleague on this case is the handsome magistrate Manlius Faustus, Albia (a widow) must also work to keep her professional life separate from her personal feelings.

Albia's voice--witty, intelligent, often caustic--is the great strength of this novel, which sometimes proves confusing with its liberal use of long Roman names and titles. Though the plot often meanders, it contains several satisfying twists (including a subplot on Roman gangs) and a tantalizing hint of romance. For mystery lovers and those interested in ancient Rome, Enemies at Home is a light, engaging read. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams

The first of David Khara's Consortium Thrillers series to be translated from French to English, The Bleiberg Project introduces depressive Wall Street trader Jeremy Corbin.

Tragic events a few months earlier have left Jeremy struggling, which isn't helped by two army officers arriving to inform him his father (who abandoned the family 20 years earlier) is dead. But when Jeremy goes to tell his mother about his father's death, she responds by handing him a locket inscribed with a swastika. Bewildered, Jeremy follows the trail of clues that start with the locket, and he quickly discovers that his father's abandonment was a cover story for something far more dangerous. His dad, Lt. General Corbin, had been looking into a mysterious group called the Consortium, with shadowy ties to Nazi atrocities.

Jeremy's father had friends at Langley who want the younger Corbin to continue where his father left off, so they give him a hot CIA bodyguard named Jackie and instructions to head to Zurich. Jackie and Jeremy flirt their way to Switzerland, despite a scarily effective Mossad agent on their tail. Can Jeremy find out what the Consortium is up to and why his father was killed before the bad guys catch up with him?

The Bleiberg Project is a roller-coaster of a book, with terse prose that jumps back and forth from World War II to the present day. The truths that Jeremy and Jackie uncover are shocking, and frankly unbelievable, but the thrill of the ride helps to suspend disbelief. The Bleiberg Project is a fun, fast-paced thriller that is over all too quickly. --Jessica Howard, blogger at Quirky Bookworm

Pity the back-to-basics foodie living in a small apartment: hungering for homemade pickles and jams but unable to handle the bushels of produce and dozens of canning jars most recipes demand. Marisa McClellan, whose blog Food in Jars (also the title of her 2012 book) was the springboard for Preserving by the Pint, can help these troubled souls.

Urban canners aren't the only ones who can benefit from McClellan's creative small batches. Empty nesters, folks with fruit trees and gardens yielding seasonal bounty, and givers of homemade treats will find favorites among her easy-to-follow recipes. She introduces tools and techniques in a demystifying first chapter, and then it's off to the market or the garden.

Recipes both sweet and savory are grouped by season. McClellan favors less-common fruits and vegetables; spring brings four rhubarb delicacies and only three strawberry-based. Winter includes a predictable cranberry recipe and five others that feature lemons--all creative and mouthwatering.

Bits of food-centric memoir--from her West Coast childhood of crab feasts and apple cider to tales of foraging in the markets near her Philadelphia home--and a few recipes that pair well with her preserves give this cookbook a friendly ambiance. What should you do with your one precious pint of sour cherries with Bourbon? Drop them, one by one, in your next round of cocktails. Need a perfect homemade gift? Try pairing whole-wheat shortbread with a jar of preserves (maybe lavender-lemon marmalade, or perhaps Italian plum jam with star anise).

A full-page photo opposite every recipe invites the canner, novice or veteran, to try these easy steps to achieve delightful delicacies in a jar. --Cheryl Krocker McKeon, manager, Book Passage, San Francisco

The rivalry between Elizabeth Tudor (later crowned as Elizabeth I) and her first cousin Mary Stewart has been the subject of many biographies. Both descendants of Henry VII, the women each had a legitimate claim to the English throne; as the daughter of James V of Scotland, Mary Stewart could also claim the Scottish throne, which would give her the power to unite Britain and end the centuries-long feud with France.

Although much ink has been spilled on the tense relationship between the two cousins, few have tried to explain how this "perfect storm" of loyalty and rivalry developed; Tudors Versus Stewarts aims to fill the void. Linda Porter (The Myth of "Bloody Mary") puts this infamous feud in context by beginning not with the circumstances of Mary Stewart's ascension or even her birth, but with the defeat of Richard III by Henry Tudor (Henry VII) at the Battle of Bosworth. Porter weaves together the depths of the Tudor-Stewart family rivalries and interconnections with the decade of political maneuvering that placed the would-be queens in such a precarious position.

Far from a case of mere "cousin rivalry" or jealousy, the relationship between Mary and Elizabeth was deeply political, and each woman keenly felt the welfare of nations resting on her shoulders. Tudors Versus Stewarts brings this relationship and its players to life in clear, elegant prose that does justice to one of the most well-known royal intrigues in British history. --Dani Alexis Ryskamp, blogger at The Book Cricket

In Meat Is for Pussies: A How-To Guide for Dudes Who Want to Get Fit, Kick Ass, and Take Names, John Joseph, singer of hardcore band the Cro-Mags, is profane, judgmental and obnoxious--as well as passionate, knowledgeable and well-intentioned--as he hopes to convince red-blooded American males (and anyone else who'll listen) that embracing a plant-based diet is imperative.

Joseph believes "eating defenseless animals doesn't make you tough, numb-nuts, it makes you a coward. You wanna eat meat? Then instead of purchasing factory-killed, slickly packaged animal parts, have some balls and tear one down with your bare hands and rip it apart." He's loath to use the word "vegan"--he believes it conjures images of people he doesn't respect--but that's the diet he espouses as the best way to care for our planet and our personal health. In addition, he explains how to interpret product barcodes to monitor the presence of GMOs or pesticides in our food and offers a quick way to check the pH levels of your blood (and fix imbalances with dietary adjustments).

Joseph also includes mental toughness tips, a 30-day workout from Aaron Drogoszewski (trainer to professional athletes), 30 days of plant-based recipes and an appendix intended to provide "peace of mind that... the food on my plate is not destroying the planet's ecosystem in some way or contributing to the torture of some poor creature." While one may question whether a punk musician has credibility as a nutritional guru, Joseph's personal experience and passion are convincing. Some readers may find his tone offensive, but others who might not otherwise consider a vegan lifestyle may be seduced. --Kristen Galles from Book Club Classics

Making parenting choices has never been easy, but in the digital era, the dilemmas seem both more numerous and more difficult. Among the questions modern parents face is how to instill a love of literacy and learning in children in the age of mobile devices. Jason Boog--a journalist and former lead editor of Mediabistro's publishing news site GalleyCat--interviewed librarians, educators, child-development experts and children's book authors in a quest for answers; the result is this playbook for using traditional picture books and new digital media side by side to foster a lifelong enjoyment of reading starting at birth.

Boog bases his instructions on well-known research that indicates children whose caregivers employ interactive reading methods enjoy benefits such as raised IQs and greater school readiness. Boog delineates these techniques--including conversation and simple dramatization--in chapters geared toward the first few years of a child's life, through kindergarten. Balancing anecdotes from his experience with his daughter, Olive, with advice and opinions from experts, Boog offers strategies to expand an existing fascination with books or draw in a reluctant pre-reader. He also provides convenient lists of great children's titles, some of which he combines with companion activity suggestions in "Born Reading Bundles."

The introduction of digital media to children comes with two major questions: How early and how much? Boog suggests adhering to current American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines but also illuminates how to introduce digital media into a child's life in stimulating, nonharmful ways, rounding out this useful guide for any new parent or caregiver. --Jaclyn Fulwood, blogger at Infinite Reads

In her quest to understand the obsessive collectors of pre-war blues 78 rpm records, music critic Amanda Petrusich (It Still Moves) became one herself, finding meaning in the often-fruitless search for these scarce, fragile artifacts of an earlier age. She visits and befriends a few of these quirky collectors; some are cantankerous, others are helpful, still others have only a veneer of social skill. They're all initially wary of her, each testing her knowledge and willingness to acknowledge their superior understanding of the hobby.

One friendly collector introduces her to several of his compatriots: all male and single-mindedly meticulous. In one chapter, she analyzes the potential of collectors to have some sort of OCD or autistic tendencies--each man, she asserts, collects these rarities to protect against the loss of self, or perhaps as a way to impose order on an unordered universe. Some collectors are in it for the music. Others are in it for the recognition. Some of these men haven't listened to a modern recording since the 1970s.

A fan of the music, Petrusich soon became a fan of the dedicated hobbyists, too, though she felt out of place in this male-dominated mini society. Eventually, she found herself in scuba gear, searching the gritty waters of the Mississippi River to find discarded albums, once thrown like Frisbees by record studio employees.

Why and how these men collect their records is as interesting as the story of the music on the discs; Petrusich ably humanizes these characters while charting the course of a section of music history. --Rob LeFebvre, freelance writer and editor

As she did with a Georgia peach orchard for her debut, Peaches (and its companions), Jody Lynn Anderson captivatingly depicts the dynamics of a small town, this time on the banks of Lake Michigan after the tourists leave and the cold weather sets in.

The author also captures the economic disparity among three teens: wealthy, beautiful Pauline Boden; outcast Liam Witte, whose father runs an automotive repair shop and touts his atheistic views in a town of believers; and newcomer Maggie Larsen. Maggie and her family move from Chicago to her uncle's "ramshackle" house in Gill Creek, Wis., after her parents fall on hard times. Free-spirited Pauline seems refreshingly unaware of her stunning beauty and gloms onto brainy, determined Maggie, with plans to attend Northwestern. Pauline introduces Maggie to Liam, whom she's known since age five. Maggie instantly sees that Liam is in love with Pauline, yet Pauline keeps their relationship platonic. Maggie develops feelings for Liam, and readers will suspect there's trouble ahead for this triangle. Meanwhile, beautiful teenage girls turn up dead in the water, one after another, and a ghostly voice steps in intermittently to speak of the land and its people, past and present.

Anderson crafts a psychological thriller more than a detective story, and nothing wraps up neatly. Instead, the author explores the unusual kind of haunting that happens in a town where the lore becomes the fabric of their daily lives. Maggie's feelings of isolation, Pauline's sense of being trapped, and the claustrophobia of Gill Creek all play a role in this tragedy. --Jennifer M. Brown, children's editor, Shelf Awareness