Jack Wolf's debut novel, The Tale of Raw Head and Bloody Bones, takes much of its inspiration from English fairy tales and folklore, and the language reflects its 18th-century setting. Tristan Hart, the narrator, is obviously brilliant and notably well-bred, but also clearly troubled. Prone to mental illness and psychosis, Tristan's recollections are inherently muddled and occasionally disturbing.

Tristan, despite his illness, leaves home to study medicine in London. While there, he realizes that he is irresistibly drawn to the practice of pain, whether preventing it medically or inflicting it personally. In attempting to understand this dichotomy, Tristan uses all of the knowledge and techniques available to him in this age of enlightenment. His research takes him beyond the laboratory to human experimentation, including sadistic practices that are ultimately carried out on his young wife. (She's a strange but suitable match for him, in that she is as willing to receive pain as he is to inflict it). Yet these efforts at self-understanding are confounded by Tristan's inability to distinguish reality from fantasy.

Some readers will find that the use of historically accurate English impedes their progress, while others may struggle with the scenes describing rudimentary surgery, human experimentation and sadism. Wolf maintains a fairly tight control over this ambitious and complicated novel, however, and readers who continue to the end will think about Tristan's story long after the final page. --Roni K. Devlin, owner, Literary Life Bookstore

In The Dream Merchant, Fred Waitzkin explores how good people's momentary ethical and moral lapses can result in destruction and ruin. As Jim, a 75-year-old salesman at the twilight of his career, makes a last-ditch effort to close the deal with a young, live-in lover, he reminisces about the key episodes of his narcissistic life to an unnamed narrator.

It is 1983 when the narrator, a 30-something journalist, meets Jim in a Bahamian bar and falls in love with his sense of adventure, flamboyance and wealth. Fast forward 20 years: Jim is now penniless, abandoning his latest wife for the erotically charged Mara, to whom he sells a diminishing past of privilege and wealth. He engages the narrator to write a memoir of his fairytale life, from humble beginnings in poverty on the Canadian plains to a rise up the economic ladder through pyramid and Ponzi schemes. Jim's insatiable ambition pushes an adoring trophy wife to dark impulses and secret affairs; he drowns his heartbreak with the pursuit of gold in the Amazonian jungle. As Jim's story progresses, the narrator's tone turns critical, as he himself recognizes: "Many of us are like this, making boxes for the loves we love, stuffing them back inside."

Waitzkin expertly psychoanalyzes his characters, juxtaposing the good and the bad of each to chilling effect. Jim's story is at once mesmerizing, erotically charged and repulsive--emotions echoed brilliantly by Waitzkin's ever prescient voice of reason. --Nancy Powell, freelance writer and technical consultant

Conventional wisdom says suicide bombers place no value on life; tragedy, hardship and extreme religion have blunted their human feelings. But what if the opposite is true? What if poverty and degradation feed extremism because they cause their victims to feel too much? These daring and uncomfortable questions are explored with poetic grace in Horses of God, a troubling yet beautiful novella from Moroccan artist and writer Mahi Binebine.

Based on a real incident from 2003, Horses of God is a picture of what pre-martyrdom life may have been like for boys growing up in the slums of Casablanca. Through Yachine, a young bomber who narrates from a regretful afterlife, Binebine leads the reader through a world of scavenge and filth, of casual violence and hunger. But for all the fear and privation, Yachine's world is also sometimes the world of all young people, where home has its special comforts, where a game of soccer can make a poor boy feel like a king and where the affections of a special girl can scent the air with beauty.

Binebine depicts, achingly, how the Sidi Moumen slum extinguishes that universal spirit of youthful possibility. When the opportunity for martyrdom comes to Yachine and his friends through a predatory group of older terrorists, the choice to trade the injustice of this world for the rewards of the next seems an obvious outlet for the passionate rage their cruel lives have engendered. Horses of God is a haunting elegy for the broken souls of mass murderers. --Cherie Ann Parker, freelance journalist and book critic

Leaving Everything Most Loved, Maisie Dobbs's 10th adventure, finds Jacqueline Winspear's heroine investigating the murders of two Indian women in London--and weighing several pressing personal questions.

An Indian man approaches Maisie about the murder of his sister, Usha Pramal, who came to Britain as a governess and later lived in a hostel with other Indian women, taking cleaning jobs to make ends meet. Well-educated and kind, Usha was a radiant spirit, a gifted teacher and a hard worker. Who would kill such a glowing soul, and why?

As Maisie seeks to unravel the threads of Usha's life, another young woman from the hostel is killed. Meanwhile, Maisie worries that the strain of her last case is still affecting her longtime assistant, Billy Beale, and continues to wonder if she can commit to marrying James, the man she loves.

Winspear writes sensitively of Maisie's inner struggles, with nods to previous cases and Maisie's personal journey from scullery maid to university graduate, war nurse and private investigator. Longtime readers of the series will appreciate a subplot or two involving familiar characters, while readers new and old will warm to Maisie and her thoughtful, incisive method of detecting. Both Usha's origins and Maisie's growing interest in travel abroad give this book an Indian flavor. Winspear touches on issues of empire without being heavy-handed, and resolves some questions while leaving others intriguingly open.

Well written, fascinating and layered (like all Winspear's books), Leaving Everything Most Loved provides both a satisfying mystery and an exciting new adventure for its heroine. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams

When Daria Gibron, the formidable ex-Israeli secret service agent from Dana Haynes's Crashers and Breaking Point, returns in Ice Cold Kill, she's mostly working as an interpreter in the United States. Then she receives an urgent e-mail from an old acquaintance that lures her to New York City, where she narrowly but cleverly escapes the trap set for her. Placed on the wanted list by American and international government agencies, she has no choice but to join forces with a well-known terrorist. The two go on the run across Europe while trying to shut down a horrific conspiracy--though the world considers Daria a threat, she may be the only one who can save it.

Daria is an adrenaline junkie who has incredible physical assets, both in looks and skills. Sometimes, protagonists who are good at everything become boring, but Daria is always someone to root for; her hardscrabble background as an orphan justifies her toughness and survival skills. Her relationships with both her temporary ally and the man she's pursuing are complicated, resulting in surprising revelations.

Haynes can abruptly shift the point of view, at times within a single chapter, which might cause some disorientation, but it's not difficult to get back on track as the explosive action and cinematic language propels the plot forward. It's easy to "see" many scenes as if they're on a screen, like watching a Hollywood summer blockbuster that's happening in your mind. --Elyse Dinh-McCrillis, writer/editor blogging at Pop Culture Nerd

Commissario Guido Brunetti loves his family dearly--especially his fiery, opinionated wife, Paola Falieri. He doesn't love his boss, Vice-Questore Patta, but he can hardly refuse to get involved when Patta asks him to discreetly look into some bribes that the fiancée of the Venetian mayor's son may have paid. Then Brunetti is distracted by a phone call from Paola, informing him that the man who worked at their dry cleaner has died. The man was both deaf and mentally handicapped, and neither Brunetti nor Paola know his name. Both are ashamed of this, and so Brunetti agrees to check it out, with the unofficial help of his team.

The dead man's mother calls him Davide, but as far as the Italian government is concerned, he never existed--no birth certificate, never paid taxes, never registered anywhere for anything. How could someone in this day and age live so under the radar? What was really wrong with Davide? Why is his mother being so secretive about his lack of documentation and parentage?

As always, Donna Leon transports the reader to the beautiful, decaying city of Venice. Davide's sad story underscores the complexity of Italian culture and life, as well as the never-ending struggle against dishonesty and corruption Brunetti and his team face. The debates among Brunetti and Paola and their children about the role of government and human nature are fascinating, adding weight to an already twisted mystery. The Golden Egg is not to be missed; an excellent installment in the beloved Brunetti series. --Jessica Howard, blogger at Quirky Bookworm

Growing up in Brooklyn, Jennifer Perillo ate a lot of convenience foods. Then, after her parents divorced, she began helping her mom in the kitchen and discovered a new passion. In Homemade with Love, which grew out of her popular blog In Jennie's Kitchen, Perillo shares the joy she finds in cooking for those she loves.

Perillo's husband, Michael, died suddenly in 2011 from a rare autoimmune disease. His favorite recipes pop up often, underscoring the assertion that Mikey is still very much a part of her family. Her two young daughters also make frequent appearances, whether they're running a lemonade stand or begging their mom to tweak a cupcake recipe for an egg-allergic friend.

Perillo begins with the basics, taking readers on a tour of her kitchen and sharing recipes for homemade baking mixes, chicken stock, marinara sauce and even fresh ricotta. Two chapters on breakfast (sit-down and on the go) provide a seamless transition to the book's heart: simple, healthy, delicious main dishes and sides.

The Italian flavors of Perillo's childhood play a strong role, and she adds a few Asian touches, several Mexican recipes and basic comfort foods such as roast chicken and chicken pot pie. Handy icons signal recipes that can be made ahead or made quickly, or are adaptable for vegetarians, vegans or those with other special diets. Perillo's warm, friendly voice shines through in the recipe notes, inviting even timid cooks to take a turn at the stove. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams

In addition to historical fiction (Rhett Butler's People, an official sequel to Gone with the Wind) Donald McCaig writes about a pastime that enthusiasts consider a way of life--raising and trialing sheepdogs.

The eponymous Mr. and Mrs. Dog are a pair of border collies who trialed with him through burning heat, blinding rain and stinging sleet to qualify for the World Sheepdog Trials in Wales. Trialing is grueling work, requiring absolute concentration and self-discipline from both dog and handler as they attempt to demonstrate control over a flock of unfamiliar sheep on unfamiliar ground. McCaig relates his journey with June, "a foxy lady in a slinky black-and-white peignoir," and Luke, a dog who is at once "the best shedder" of sheep McCaig has owned and "a Blockhead."

Wondering if perhaps trainers from the pet and sporting dog spheres might have some insight he and his fellow herding enthusiasts lack, McCaig interviews and observes leading dog trainers of methods both new and time-honored, from positive reinforcement to e-collars to traditional dominance and correction-based training.

While McCaig ultimately adopts none of these methods, he offers an intelligent and nonjudgmental investigation of what is arguably the dog enthusiast's biggest hot-button issue: How should we train our dogs? Which method gets results, and which is most humane? How is the quality of humaneness to be defined, by human emotional standards or by the needs of dogs?

In a wry, down-to-earth tone, McCaig gives us an primer on dog training and sheepdog trials studded with shrewd philosophical insights into humankind's relationship with our oldest friend. --Jaclyn Fulwood, youth services manager, Latah County Library District; blogger at Infinite Reads

Lemony Snicket (A Series of Unfortunate Events), having written 13 books about a family of orphans who live in fear, here pens a triumphant picture book in which a boy conquers his fear of the dark. Jon Klassen, working in the same palette as his 2013 Caldecott Medal–winning This Is Not My Hat, makes us believe that the dark is alive, and Snicket gives voice to it.

"Laszlo was afraid of the dark," the book begins. Readers immediately sense the interplay between light and dark in Laszlo's world, as the hero looks nervously at the window, where the sun is setting in the rosy rectangle of a window frame. His flashlight is within reach. The boy and the dark are the sole characters in the book. Post-sunset, the light plays off the staircase in rectangular blocks as the darkness increases its dominance. Snicket's sparest statements cause the scariest effects: "Sometimes the dark hid in the closet. Sometimes it sat behind the shower curtain." Each morning, Laszlo stands in the doorway to the basement and says, "Hi, dark.... Laszlo thought that if he visited the dark in the dark's room, maybe the dark wouldn't come visit him in his room." But of course, the dark does come to his room.

Readers, do not fear. Snicket and Klassen build to a well-earned victory for Laszlo, synchronized exquisitely between text and artwork. By the close, Laszlo ventures as far down as the second landing on the basement stairs, and we know he will be just fine. --Jennifer M. Brown