In 1886, Ulysses Pope leaves a note for his family at his small Minnesota farm explaining that he's going to find work, and then apparently disappears. His wife, Gretta, hears no news of him for months and becomes increasingly desperate as their finances worsen. When Gretta wakes up one morning to find her sons Eli and Danny have left, too, she has no choice but to set out in search of her missing family.

Unbeknownst to Gretta, Eli and Danny intercepted a letter from a woman out West, a woman who seems determined to make Ulysses her own. The boys jump trains heading toward Montana, but Gretta, clueless, decides to head for St. Paul, where she and Ulysses met. There, she uncovers Ulysses's history from before they were wed: the dark secrets that have haunted him for years and finally drove him away from his family and home. Scattered across the country, the four Popes face danger and uncertainty, and each will be forced to confront his or her own fears before all are reunited.

Lin Enger (Undiscovered Country) powerfully portrays Ulysses's quest for redemption--and the desperation that drives his wife and children to search for him. In emotional but careful terms, he paints a portrait of a family on the brink of collapse. The American West, with its miles of empty space, reflects both the barrenness of their memories and the wide possibilities of their future. The fate of the Pope family becomes intertwined with that of the West: this is a story of betrayal, destruction and forgiveness. --Jessica Howard, blogger at Quirky Bookworm

Johanna Morrigan, age 14, lives in '90s-era Wolverhampton, England, with her parents and four siblings (including two babies without names, known long-term as the Unexpected Twins). They are all on government assistance or benefits. Her mother is depressed and her father still clings to his rock-star dreams. Johanna is desperate to leave behind Wolverhampton, benefits and her virginity.

Her big chance comes when she's filmed for TV, reading her prize-winning poem on the theme of "Friendship," but it goes awry when she surprises even herself with a shameful impromptu Scooby-Doo impression. Being Johanna Morrigan is a losing proposition, so she sets about methodically building the girl she wants to be: Dolly Wilde, music critic.

Johanna's Dolly Wilde is constructed on the music of Hole, Bikini Kill, David Bowie and Kate Bush; the writing of Dorothy Parker, Orwell and Kerouac; and a blind ambition to reach London. She sends in one album review per day for 27 days until, amazingly, she is hired by Disc and Music Echo. Dolly's first encounter with live music ushers in an era of drink, sex and eventually drugs; she happily pursues the lifestyle of the rock stars she admires, but is challenged to reconcile this new life with her household back at home in Wolverhampton.

To fall in love with the clumsily charming, heartbreaking Johanna, readers will want to check their inhibitions regarding four-letter words and masturbation, but Caitlin Moran (How to Be a Woman) is cheeky, intelligent, thought-provoking and laugh-out-loud funny. This novel (her first) reminds us that we are always learning and rebuilding, no matter our origins. --Julia Jenkins, librarian and blogger at pagesofjulia

In his afterword to this story about a discredited Israeli Minister of Trade's retreat to Crimea with his mistress, David Bezmozgis (The Free World) recognizes the risks of setting a contemporary, politically layered fiction in countries in the news. While acknowledging that Crimea's recent annexation by Russia and the armed conflict between Israel and Gaza have made his novel's settings more broadly recognized, he also "felt frustrated that world events conspired to undermine my designs for the book." To Bezmozgis's credit, The Betrayers tells such a rich story that it could be an enduring success regardless of the front-page news.

Baruch Kotler rose in Israeli politics as a dissident hero who survived 14 years in a Soviet gulag and championed Jewish self-determination. But in his mid-60s, his public repudiation of the prime minister leads to his political downfall and swift relocation to Yalta with his young mistress, Leora. He has hopes of a quiet life of love on the beaches of Crimea, away from his wife and adult children--until he discovers that the owner of his rental cottage is the same turncoat Russian Jew whose betrayal sent Kotler to the gulag. Caught in an emotional cauldron of lust, vengeance and regret, Kotler is forced to examine his choices and to attempt to do the right thing with regard to Leora, his family, his country and the former KGB informant.

Bezmozgis has engagingly captured all the historical and moral ambiguity hanging over the head of one man trying to sort out what's right in a world of wrongs. This is a powerful novel--both timely and timeless. --Bruce Jacobs, founding partner Watermark Books & Cafe, Wichita, Kans.

Many fans of crime fiction and capers consider Donald E. Westlake among the best writers in the field. He published more than 100 books and received a Grand Master citation from the Mystery Writers of America. Those who love his work and such memorable characters as Parker, John Dortmunder and Sam Holt can now rejoice; collected here are essays, letters (one to Stephen King), interviews, an autobiographical fragment (in which he explains why being born in Brooklyn saved his infant life) and a recipe for John Dortmunder's companion May's tuna casserole. Some pieces have never been published before. All this is thanks to editor Levi Stahl, promotions manager at the University of Chicago Press.

As Lawrence Block writes in his foreword, Westlake never wrote a "bad sentence, a clumsy paragraph, or a dull page." He was also a "wonderfully witty man." Westlake considered Peter Rabe's Kill the Boss Good-Bye one of the "most purely interesting crime novels ever written," but claimed that Rabe "wrote the best books with the worst titles of anybody I can think of."

In a piece on Rex Stout, he proclaimed Stout a "far better writing craftsman than Conan Doyle." In an essay on "Hardboiled Dicks," Westlake suggested that Raymond Chandler's "homosexual content" gave his stories their "texture and fascination." Also included is a lengthy list of book titles Westlake never used, including Read Me (an apt directive for any of his books). As Stahl writes in his introduction, this is a "book for fans... lots of us." --Tom Lavoie, former publisher

In the 16th entry in the Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James series by Deborah Crombie (The Sound of Broken Glass), Duncan and Gemma are still juggling their intense jobs with their hectic home life (they have a foster daughter, two sons from previous marriages, plus a small menagerie of pets). Gemma, a Detective Inspector in South London, is investigating the rape and murder of a young girl. Duncan, recently demoted from Scotland Yard, is heading up a major-incident team in Holborn.

Duncan's team is called in to St. Pancras Station when a protest goes awry and fire breaks out. Someone (a man?) dies horribly in the conflagration, and the closure of this major transit hub interrupts train service across England and Europe. Duncan's team is under pressure from the higher-ups to assess quickly not only who died but also whether the apparent self-immolation was a terrorist attack or an accident. Struggling to cooperate with team members resentful of his appointment, Duncan finds himself searching for the truth through unofficial channels. But will his investigation put him at risk of more than another career setback? Meanwhile, Gemma is struggling to find hard evidence to link the dead girl to the man she believes to be guilty.

To Dwell in Darkness showcases Crombie's trademark blend of happy family minutiae and disturbing murder details. But the darkness of the crimes spills over into the protagonists' household, creating a sense of conspiracy and unease that will keep readers anxiously turning the pages. --Jessica Howard, blogger at Quirky Bookworm

At a Bath auction house, professor John Gildersleeve, an authority on Chaucer, is bidding on a medieval stone statue that possibly depicts the Wife of Bath from The Canterbury Tales. Armed robbers try to steal it, and in an attempt to stop them, Gildersleeve is killed. Superintendent Peter Diamond, head of Bath CID, and his team are bewildered by the crime. Who would try to steal a massive stone statue of dubious provenance? It's possible that the statue wasn't the real target; Gildersleeve's planned attendance at the auction was widely known, so any of his potential enemies could be sure to catch him there.

As the team struggles to uncover a motive, the statue sits in Diamond's office, looming. The detective starts to believe that the Wife of Bath is mocking him for his ineffective investigation as he continues to interview Gildersleeve's colleagues and family. When Sergeant Ingeborg Smith finds an unlikely lead and goes undercover into a world of guns and gangsters to look for answers, her dangerous mission contrasts with the erudite literary circles in which Diamond mingles.

The Stone Wife, the 14th book in the Peter Diamond series by Peter Lovesey (The Tooth Tattoo), will appeal to fans of the series. Its slightly absurd premise might not be the best starting point for a new reader, but Diamond's short temper and quirky investigative tactics are still pleasing, and readers familiar with English literature are sure to love all the Chaucerian allusions. --Jessica Howard, blogger at Quirky Bookworm

Sean Lewis was working as a sportswriter in 2010 when he got his first writing assignment from Beer Advocate--a profile of the infant Blue Hills Brewery in Canton, Mass. He worked there as an unpaid intern, learning the brewing ropes, and admired what he calls "the Tao of the brewmaster." Many brewery tours and interviews later, in We Make Beer, he relates the "spirit and artistry" of craft brewers from coast to coast, from garages and barns to the largest brewhouses in the nation.

Lewis visits with major players (Boston Beer Company, Sierra Nevada, Stone), younger, smaller efforts (Nebraska, Jackalope), brewpubs and production breweries, and explores various approaches to the concept of growth. For example, Sheepscot Valley Brewing Company has chosen to stay local to Whitefield, Maine, and the community has repaid that effort, while West Coasters Sierra Nevada and Lagunitas have recently opened East Coast locations to serve their expanding markets. In language that will make readers thirst for a well-crafted pint, and with graceful transitions between topics, Lewis undertakes what is clearly a labor of love--much like the businesses he writes about. His celebration of the women and men of craft brewing is both accessible to the novice (see his one-page appendix on the brewing process, and explanation of the pronunciation of "wort") and thoroughly rewarding for the beer aficionado. A comment about a collaboration between three breweries is equally applicable to the larger concept of Lewis's book: "It just seemed like a fun thing to do." --Julia Jenkins, librarian and blogger at pagesofjulia

In 2006, 19-year-old Reggie Shaw was headed to work when he veered over the double line in the center of the road and skimmed the side of an oncoming car, sending it spiraling out of control; the crash took the lives of both of that car's occupants. Investigators subpoenaed Shaw's cell phone records and found that he had been sending and receiving text messages in the minutes--and seconds--leading up to the accident.

What followed was a years-long legal battle as the state of Utah struggled with the issues involving texting while driving, and how much control the state could exert over drivers' actions behind the wheel. Ultimately, Shaw's own testimony proved indispensable in pushing through legislation that would limit drivers' use of cell phones and make more people aware of the dangers of texting and driving.

Matt Richtel won a Pulitzer Prize for his New York Times series on the subject of distracted driving; A Deadly Wandering is his account of Shaw's accident and the ensuing legal battles. Not content with simple reportage, Richtel weaves in accounts from neuroscientists who are studying distraction, technology and how we can become addicted to our devices. Though Richtel sometimes offers too much detail, presenting more biographies of the players in the court case than might be necessary, his book ultimately serves as a testament to the power of journalism to retell a story with added layers for maximum impact. In a world where 89% of American adults believe it's dangerous to text and drive (though 64% still admit that they do it), that impact is clearly needed. --Kerry McHugh, blogger at Entomology of a Bookworm

Fans of The Screaming Staircase, book one in Jonathan Stroud's (Bartimaeus quartet) excellent Lockwood & Co. series, will be happy to reconnect with this team of appealing psychic investigation agents for a second installment. From genteel Anthony Lockwood, head of Lockwood & Co. Agency, to scruffy, research-loving George and Lucy, who can hear spirits speak, there is plenty of chemistry among this group. Their job is to rid London of malevolent ghosts, while trying to stay one step ahead of their rivals at the Fittes Agency.

With London overrun with supernatural activity, Lockwood & Co. is hired to oversee the exhumation of a dangerous grave. The grave, which belongs to a dark arts practitioner who died horrifically, is thought to house a "Type Two Visitor." When they open the coffin to seal the bones "with a bit of silver," a terrible relic is found, and George's fascination with it allows the nasty ghost to escape. When the relic itself goes missing, Lockwood & Co. are pitted against a Fittes team headed by the odious Quill Kipps, to locate the relic before it falls into the wrong hands.

This second book neatly wraps up its investigation, while leaving a few loose threads to be examined in future episodes. The Whispering Skull blends a suspenseful, creepy mystery with a fine touch of wry humor. Readers will eagerly await the third episode in this charmingly gruesome series. --Lynn Becker, host of Book Talk, the monthly online discussion of children's books for the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators

Twelve-year-old Callum "Call" Hunt doesn't fit in at school. He has a mangled leg, a pronounced limp, an acerbic wit and a reclusive father. But Call has even more worries. At 12, all children with magical potential are summoned to the Magisterium for the Iron Trial, a test to determine who has enough ability to train to be a mage, a master of magic. Call's father believes magic is evil, and blames a mage war for his wife's death when Call was young. "When mages go to war, which is often, they don't care about the people who die because of it." Call tries to fail, but discovers instead that he has so much potential, he could be dangerous without training. At the Magisterium, he thrives for the first time in his life. He learns mage history, and that they are training to fight an evil mage, the Enemy of Death, Constantine Madden. A tentative truce has kept him at bay but his threat is ever-present, and he is expected to resurface. While Call studies magic, he learns even more about himself, his family and his future.

Holly Black (Doll Bones) and Cassandra Clare (the Mortal Instruments series) stylistically complement each other. The novel brims with magic in a fantasy that breezes along with snappy dialogue and quick pacing, plus a surprise twist. It's sure to attract even the most reluctant readers and to keep them returning for the episodes to come. While Call's adventures are just right for middle grade, the story will also appeal to Black's and Clare's myriad YA fans. --Jessica Bushore, former public librarian and freelance writer