Jerzy Kosinski (1933-1991) was the secretive yet celebrated author of Being There and The Painted Bird, an oeuvre as contradictory as the man himself. While the former was a lighthearted tale about a hapless gardener turned political pundit, the latter was a dark allegory about the moral destruction of World War II that drew on his experience as a Jew hiding from the Nazis in Poland. Kosinski was an author weighed down by accusations of plagiarism who nevertheless enjoyed fame, befriending movie stars and appearing on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.

In Jerzy, Jerome Charyn (The Secret Life of Emily Dickinson) offers a fictionalized biography of Kosinski told through the voices of people who knew him over the course of his career, revealing the many shades of his persona. It is a minimalist and unsentimental story of an elusive, larger-than-life character.

Charyn takes poetic liberties with some of the holes in Kosinski's real life. In the novel's first vignette, Kosinski resists Peter Sellers's attempts to play the main character in the film adaptation of Being There, until finally he relents and sees his character taken from him. In another, he dates Svetlana Alliluyeva, the daughter of Joseph Stalin, slowly turning her into a character he can use in a story about his liberation at the hands of the Red Army. 

In Jerzy, Kosinski can't seem to forgive himself for using true events as inspiration for his greatest work of fiction. But, in Charyn's hands, Kosinski the man is vindicated, proving that life is itself a work of art. --Josh Potter

Edgar Award nominee Becky Masterman (Fear the Darkness) knows how to open a novel. In the prologue of A Twist of the Knife, FBI rookie Brigid Quinn witnesses her first live execution by electric chair. It's a ghastly scene, but Brigid isn't against the death penalty--she believes some people "simply need to be put down."

Thirty-five years later, when Brigid--now retired--receives news that her elderly father has been hospitalized in Florida, she returns to her hometown after many years away. While there, she reconnects with former colleague Laura Coleman, who saved Brigid's life on a case they worked together.

Laura is now working as an investigator for a criminal defense lawyer who handles appeals. Her current case involves Marcus Creighton, a man on death row for killing his wife and three children. Laura is certain Creighton is innocent, and though Brigid isn't so sure, she agrees to help Laura dig up info that could stay Creighton's execution. But with five days to go, can they do it in time?

In her third outing, Brigid remains an arresting character. She promises "to tell the truth in these stories... even if it makes me look bad." Au contraire--her bluntness and dry sense of humor make her riveting. Her time spent with family allows readers to learn more about her past, with Brigid discovering painful truths that challenge what she thought she knew about her kin. Twist also examines, without judgment, the limitations of the justice system, and how even when good people do what they believe is right, their actions can bring devastating consequences. --Elyse Dinh-McCrillis, blogger at Pop Culture Nerd

Eddie has a secret power granted by a demonic curse: he can come back to life once he's been killed (so long as someone touches him). This makes him a perfect foil for a powerful gangland demon who's looking for a missing courier in a desperate play for peace between the demon's crew and a rival gang. When mob boss Alphonese "Big Al" Aligheri revives Eddie for one last job, it becomes clear that there's more to the game than just drug running and trading in mortal souls. Complicating matters is the fact that Eddie's still in love with his beautiful yet ethically ambiguous ex-girlfriend, especially when her current mob-boss boyfriend becomes a suspect in Eddie's investigation.

Originally published in 2010, The Damned: Three Days Dead has been newly colored by Bill Crabtree. Every page shows off a muted palette that's perfect for a Prohibition-era story about the supernatural and the mob. Graveyards and city streets share the same gray tones, while bursts of color call out important moments.

More than a mere mob and demon tale, Three Days Dead fills in a compelling story with small bits that will entice close readers. Where does Eddie go to when he's dead? Who is following him in the underworld? The final panel of the volume leaves readers wanting more, without a clichéd cliffhanger. The Damned series gets off to a promising start with this first volume. --Rob LeFebvre, freelance writer and editor

As they brainstormed names for their New York City restaurant, Maya and Dean Jankelowitz toyed with calling it "Jack's Wife Freda" in honor of Dean's grandparents, and grandmother in particular. According to Maya, people said no one would invest in their restaurant "with that ridiculous name." But they chose it anyway--and had great success. Now, their cookbook, Jack's Wife Freda: Cooking From New York's West Village, offers a chance to re-create some of their most popular dishes at home, with recipes written by the restaurant's chef, Julia Jaksic.

The dishes reflect flavors Maya and Dean grew up with, Jewish cuisine that draws from both Maya's Israeli background and Dean's South African roots. The recipes are succinct and easy to follow. Gorgeous photos accompany each recipe, and pictures throughout depict the joyful bustle of the restaurant itself. Breakfast hits include a fuchsia Eggs Benny--with beet Hollandaise and latkes in lieu of English muffins--and Rose Water Waffles. The lunch menu offers the seasonally adaptable Maya's Grain Bowl as well as a dill-filled Matzo Ball Soup. The dinner menu boasts perennial favorites like Zucchini Chips, Chicken Livers on Toast and Freda's Fishballs.

Vegetarian options are numerous, and a handful of recipes will please vegans and gluten-free eaters, too. But Jack's Wife Freda is at heart an omnivore's delight, a vibrant mix of ingredients, flavors, textures and cultures. --Katie Weed, freelance writer and reviewer

Abigail Pogrebin's casual relationship with Judaism never troubled her until she realized that, despite the wonderful people in her family and the accomplishments she attained, she felt spiritually devoid of purpose. Not having paid much attention previously, she decides to observe all 18 Jewish holidays over the course of a year in hopes of understanding what Judaism has to offer her. She tackles the task eagerly, with an earnest commitment to observe the holidays and study the traditions associated with each beforehand. She speaks to fellow Jews, interviews rabbis, reads the Torah and its commentaries, and tries to participate fully.

Pogrebin's exploration takes her down unexpected paths. She encounters things that lead her to feel conflicted about her own practices, traditions and perceptions. When it comes time to celebrate Hanukkah, for example, she is distressed to learn that in its time of origin, the Jewish people were divided according to what constitutes authentic Judaism, and draws parallels to how the ultra-Orthodox see secular and Reform Jews today. Pogrebin also shares humorous stories, like the time she nearly drove her family mad trying to learn to blow the shofar, a ram's horn that is sounded to mark Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year. Throughout My Jewish Year, Pogrebin engages candidly with the holidays and traditions, confessing when not every part of the practices come alive for her, noting what resonates, what doesn't and why. In reading this memoir, it becomes apparent how many people around Pogrebin share her search for meaning, a journey other seekers will relate to. --Justus Joseph, Elliott Bay Book Company, Seattle, Wash.

After conducting a series of interviews with Elton John for British music magazine Mojo, Tom Doyle (Man on the Run) realized that he wouldn't have enough space to include some of the best material. Thus, the idea for Captain Fantastic: Elton John's Stellar Trip Through the '70s was born. Based on primary sources, including additional interviews and John's personal diary, this enthralling biography recounts the best and worst of the glam singer's biggest decade.

It opens on Reginald Dwight, the "moon-faced twenty-one-year-old" who would become Elton John, poring over his extensive record collection. Music was a way for the shy but ambitious young man to express his thoughts and feelings to the world. That passion for music led John to team up with Bernie Taupin, a budding lyricist who also felt like an outsider to the hip world of rock 'n' roll. He was "the brother I always wanted," John tells Doyle.

Doyle's biography follows the pair from their first songwriting successes to John's painful engagement to Linda Woodrow and through the singer's late-'70s struggle with drug addiction. Doyle includes anecdotes from friends and family, and fascinating excerpts from John's diary. "Went to the fair with Mick and Pat: I won a coconut and two Goldfish!!" wrote John in 1969. Insights like these help to humanize a celebrity who often seems larger than life.

Well-researched and compassionate, Captain Fantastic is an engaging and moving account of a life lived hard. --Amy Brady, freelance writer and editor.

Political tension and uncertainty can produce feelings of helplessness amid injustice and dramatic change. While such thinking is understandable, Eric Liu (A Chinaman's Chance) presents effective strategies for individuals and groups to harness their potential by amplifying their voices and elevating causes.

Defining power as "the capacity to ensure that others do as you would want them to do," Liu focuses You're More Powerful Than You Think not on personal or professional empowerment but on the political. It's an arena he knows well. A former White House speechwriter, policy adviser and deputy assistant to President Bill Clinton for domestic policy, Liu offers a seasoned perspective regarding the influential impact of global campaigns such as Brexit and movements that include, among others, Occupy Wall Street, Black Lives Matter, Feel the Bern and $15 Now in the United States.

Each of these initiatives represent "a moment of citizen power [and] a deeply optimistic surge" with the same three core concepts that ordinary people have adopted throughout history, with positive results. "Because power creates monopolies and is winner-take-all, you must change the game. Power creates a story of why it's legitimate. You must change the story. Power is assumed to be finite and zero-sum. You must change the equation."

Embracing one's power can feel daunting at the onset but becomes achievable through experience, he writes. "True alienation is deadly silent and sullen. The upheaval and ruckus of our times are hopeful at heart. People still believe change is possible." --Melissa Firman, writer, editor and blogger at melissafirman.com

Since its publication in 1862, Victor Hugo's Les Misérables has been a perennial bestseller, inspiring multiple Hollywood film adaptations and the beloved Broadway musical. Its origins, argues translator and biographer David Bellos, are as compelling as the novel's story of revolution, love and redemption in 19th-century France. In The Novel of the Century, Bellos delves into Hugo's inspiration, his approach to writing and the physical production of Les Mis, while exploring the novel's enduring appeal. As Bellos notes in his introduction, "Most plans to conquer the whole world with a story go awry. Les Misérables is a wonderful exception."

Bellos (Is That a Fish in Your Ear?) divides his book (like Les Mis itself) into five parts, which cover a swath of topics related to the novel: Hugo's personal life; his politics; the historical events that shaped the novel and appear in it (notably the Battle of Waterloo and the uprising of 1832); the novel's evolution over time; and Hugo's monumental effort to get it in shape for publication. Each section ends with an "interlude," a deeper dive into a smaller, quirkier motif: contemporary French systems of coinage and color, the novel's use of "high" and "low" language, even a rumination on the enigmatic inner life of Jean Valjean. This is not a work of textual criticism, but it provides plenty of historical context and cultural insight for readers who love Hugo's story.

Accessible--even breezy--but well researched and informative, The Novel of the Century is a treat for fans of Hugo's masterwork. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams

Everywhere Niko, a budding artist, looks, he sees something that calls out to be drawn. "It might be a mother bird building her nest. Or the low autumn sun peeking out from behind a cloud. Or the ice cream truck ring-a-linging down the street." Inspired, he draws and draws. But when he shows his pictures--fantastic, abstract scribbles of line and color and shape--to other people, they just don't get it. "What is it?" they ask. "It doesn't look like the ice cream truck." Niko explains: "It's not the ice cream truck.... It's the ring-a-ling." They ask, "Where's the bell?" Patiently, Niko repeats: "It's not the bell. It's the ring-a-ling." Discouraged, Niko seems ready to retreat into himself when he meets the new girl next door, who turns out to be a kindred spirit, one who experiences his art, rather than trying to pigeonhole it.

The creative process is clearly near and dear to the hearts of Bob Raczka (Fall Mixed Up; Wet Cement: A Mix of Concrete Poems) and Simone Shin (If I Could Drive, Mama). In Niko Draws a Feeling, Raczka provides possibly the best description of artistic inspiration ever: "[I]t felt like a window opening in his brain. An idea would flit through the open window like a butterfly, flutter down to his stomach, then along his arm and fingers to his pencils, where it would escape onto his paper in a whirlwind of color." Shin's mixed-media, digital and acrylic artwork wonderfully captures the passion and poignance of a misunderstood artist. --Emilie Coulter, freelance writer and editor