Following Loving Frank, her debut novel about Frank Lloyd Wright's love affair with Mamah Cheney, Nancy Horan returns to tell the story of Robert Louis Stevenson and his American wife, Fanny van de Grift Osbourne, in Under the Wide and Starry Sky.

It's apparent Fanny and Louis were meant to be together. He was fascinated by Fanny's intrepid nature, and she proved an intelligent, loving companion, not intimidated by his repeated bouts of illness. Fanny found Louis to be the kindest, best man she had ever known. They moved in together, with Fanny's two children, before she was divorced--to the disapproval of both families.

Her need to lead a creative life was subsumed in Louis's own writing and his illness, which resulted in periodic bouts of mental breakdown. They went from France to England to Scotland and back again, always in search of inexpensive lodgings in a climate congenial to Louis's condition. In Samoa they built a home in a small village. Louis wrote every day, Fanny tended her garden, they swam and walked. One night, Louis collapsed with a cerebral hemorrhage and died. Fanny spent the rest of her days in San Francisco promoting Louis's literary legacy--and getting her own book published.

Since Horan wasn't there to hear them speak, she has "put into their mouths words from their written work or actual excerpts from their letters," with results that flow so logically and naturally the reader never questions the novel's authenticity. --Valerie Ryan, Cannon Beach Book Company, Ore.

In the early 1930s, the U.S. government provided funding for thousands of Gold Star Mothers, women whose sons were killed in World War I, to travel to France to visit their sons' graves. April Smith's novel A Star for Mrs. Blake follows five mothers on a journey across the Atlantic to Paris and on to Verdun. Drawn together by their shared sorrow, these women come from vastly different backgrounds and situations, from an Irish maid to a Boston society matron. Accompanied by a young, idealistic lieutenant and an army nurse, the women must navigate both a foreign land and delicate social situations as they confront their own grief.

Cora Blake, a single mother from Maine, is Smith's most fully realized character, the one member of her party who sees past the distinctions of class and wealth to form deep friendships with the other women. Her fellow travelers, while interesting, are less distinct and the army personnel, particularly the general in charge of the trip, often lapse into stereotype. Unlike Smith's thrillers (North of Montana etc.), this story starts slowly and moves quietly, but she deftly portrays the effects of war on both the scarred French landscape and the mothers who lost their sons and have struggled to move on.

A meditation on loss, travel and unlikely friendships, A Star for Mrs. Blake is an unusual glimpse into a little-known slice of history. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams

John Rebus is out of retirement and back on the force (though demoted to detective sergeant) in Saints of the Shadow Bible, Ian Rankin's 19th novel featuring the Scottish police officer. A change in the double jeopardy laws leads to the re-opening of a 30-year-old murder case tied to Rebus's former unit, the self-styled "Saints." Malcolm Fox is investigating a possible cover-up in the case, and Rebus soon finds himself pulled between his loyalty to his old colleagues and uncovering the truth.

Meanwhile, Rebus is also investigating a suspicious car accident that may have ties to the Scottish Independence Movement and the death of a high-ranking politician. When his research leads him back to one of the former Saints, Rebus is more determined than ever to solve both his current case and the old one.

Despite the longevity of this series, Rankin shows no signs of losing steam with John Rebus. Rebus's sense of humor, devotion to his job and sense of isolation consistently enhance his character and provide a peek into his psyche. In Saints of the Shadow Bible, his interaction with Malcolm Fox works to build empathy for both characters, as fans discover a side of Fox not seen before.

Rankin's gift with dialogue, his wit and raw examination of human nature continue to intensify, resulting in a resonant reading experience for both seasoned series devotees and new Rebus recruits. --Jen Forbus of Jen's Book Thoughts

London, 1888: The city is transfixed by the disturbingly flamboyant crimes of Jack the Ripper. Fear increases as the bodies pile up. But the situation may be worse than imagined: the police in Sarah Pinborough's novel Mayhem are beginning to suspect that there are two serial killers at work.

Dr. Thomas Bond, police surgeon, is called in to do an autopsy on body parts found hidden in the basement of police headquarters. This isn't the first female torso found, either--leading Bond and others to suspect "the Torso Killer" is someone other than Jack the Ripper.

As Bond continues to investigate, the strangeness of the case keeps him up at night, leading him to seek opium to ease his insomnia. The underground opium dens provide Bond with a clue to the killer's identity--and make him realize supernatural forces are at play.

Pinborough bases the story of Mayhem on a series of actual, unsolved murders, spinning historical fact into a well-researched mystery with an absorbing mystical twist. As Bond's drug habit becomes worse, his methodological accuracy begins to unravel, yet his desperation to find the killer increases--making for a fascinating character study. Mayhem is sure to appeal to mystery, horror and paranormal fans alike. --Jessica Howard, blogger at Quirky Bookworm

UCLA basketball coach John Wooden, the "Wizard of Westwood," was a gentle giant of wisdom whose reputation as selfless philosopher and teacher overshadowed the fiery competitor and mean taskmaster on court. Sports Illustrated writer Seth Davis has produced a fascinating biography of college basketball's greatest coach in Wooden: A Coach's Life.

The son of a poor, sports-loving Indiana farmer, Wooden was an athletic phenomenon, the perfect foil for Purdue coach Piggy Lambert's style of basketball. Lambert's strategy evolved into Wooden's coaching model, which revolutionized college basketball with dogmatic attention to player fitness grounding a game focused on fast breaks and zone defense. Wooden wanted glory, but felt handcuffed by the pressures that came with it. Behind that façade of invincibility lay a remote individual whose dogged Midwestern work ethic and strict adherence to rules left him unable to be the father figure his young charges sought.
 
"The ten championships aside, John Wooden's greatest victory may well have been his ability to emerge from all the tumult without losing sense of who he was," Davis writes. "Not a perfect man, but a very good one, a teacher more than a coach, a Christian, a husband, a father, anything but a wizard."

Davis does a good job of paralleling Wooden's story with the evolution of basketball from a half-court, jump ball game to the full court press that came to define professional play. Try as he might to expose Wooden's all-too-human flaws in his quest for basketball perfection and glory, Davis's biography helps solidify the myth and legend. --Nancy Powell, freelance writer and technical consultant

Junípero Serra, the subject of Gregory Orfalea's Journey to the Sun, was a serious intellectual born with the gift of the gab, an astute politician and a man of unswerving Catholic faith. He also was devoted to the converted native Americans with whom he lived for much of his adult life--often at odds with the 18th-century Spanish bureaucracy. He came to the New World enchanted by the mystical nun Maria de Agreda's writings. Her visionary theories guided much of Serra's missionary work, giving him the opportunity to follow reverently in the footsteps of Saints Francis of Assisi and Augustine.

Serra and his contemporaries, Juan Crespi and Fermín Lasuén, were able to tame the tribes of Mexico and California where other orders failed by melding Catholicism with the naturalistic elements of native American religions. Most of Serra's personal diaries and writings have been lost, but Orfalea's exhaustive research and vivid imagination allows readers to relive Serra's travails in this scholarly, but intensely readable, account of his life. Despite Serra's remarkable accomplishments in promoting Catholicism and establishing missions throughout the Californian territories, Orfalea is not afraid to tackle the Franciscan missionary's all-too-human struggles while arguing the case for Serra's sainthood (an issue that provokes intense debate over the historical treatment of native Americans by the Spaniards). Nevertheless, Orfalea's engaging narrative should inspire readers to revisit the missions Serra established, from San Diego to San Francisco--key monuments in California's history. --Nancy Powell, freelance writer and technical consultant

Bruce Grierson woke up one morning feeling much older than his chronological age of 47: "Age flooded in all at once." Enter Olga: a 90-something competitive runner who seems indefatigable in both body and spirit. In What Makes Olga Run?, Grierson decides to unravel the mystery of Olga's health, vitality and longevity. He quickly learns that 70%-75% of longevity is lifestyle--particularly physical exercise. Like our paleontological ancestors, our bodies are designed to move. Short intense bursts of exertion, accompanied by continual activity throughout the day, encourage mental acuity, restorative slumber and a positive outlook.

Olga grew up on a farm in Saskatchewan with a high tolerance to cold weather; she eats very little processed food and experiences polyphasic sleep cycles, which involve two periods of sleep with a time of quiet wakefulness in the middle. During her "night watch," Olga massages her muscles, encouraging an interoceptive ability to become attuned to her body's signals, which prevent her from overextending as a competitive athlete. Thirty-five years as a teacher and the other personal challenges she overcame (like leaving her abusive marriage) also helped forge cognitive acuity and grit.

Grierson discovered five qualities of personality that contribute to longevity: openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness and a lack of neuroticism. Spending time with Olga, he also began to feel better, younger and healthier. Although he maintains a self-depreciating sense of humor throughout What Makes Olga Run?, his demeanor lightens. Olga is bound to have a similar effect on readers as well. --Kristen Galles from Book Club Classics

When photographer Phillip Toledano (Days with My Father) became a father at age 40, he expected to be overwhelmed by "a tsunami of love." But instead of being captivated by his daughter, Loulou, Toledano was initially baffled by the small, alien creature suddenly demanding most of his wife's attention and affection.

The Reluctant Father is a series of photos accompanied by brief commentary, chronicling the first year and a half of Loulou's life and Toledano's frustration with the cultural "script" for new fathers, which was limited to a dewy-eyed joy he didn't feel. His candor can be jarring at times, but he gradually comes to accept, even to adore, his daughter--especially when she grows old enough to be teased and to tease him back. Readers will notice the shift from early photos of a screaming Loulou to latter portraits of her in calmer, happier moments. Just as importantly, the back half of the book is suffused with Toledano's newfound love for his child. A poignant afterword by Toledano's wife, Carla Serrano, gives balance to the story and offers a glimpse into the couple's marriage.

A perfect gift for sleep-deprived new parents with an offbeat sense of humor, The Reluctant Father is moving, challenging and ultimately charming. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams

Very much a journey book, this sequel to Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children moves quickly through many landscapes and time periods as the children flee from threats, both "normal" and "peculiar."

With their home destroyed and Miss Peregrine stuck in the form of a bird, Hollow City sends the unusually gifted children known as peculiars on a dangerous quest to find others of their kind, in order to save their beloved headmistress. The children must avoid capture by wights and nightmarish hollowgasts while racing against time, armed with little more than their individual abilities (great strength, invisibility, creating fire) and a book of fairytales. The longer Miss Peregrine remains a bird, the less chance there is of returning her to human form. Jacob must help lead their ragtag group across war-torn London, circa 1940, as he hones his ability to sense hollows and learns more about his grandfather's--and his own--role in this peculiar world.

Vintage photographs add to the novel's haunting atmosphere, while appearances by Gypsies and carnival folk give it a grounded mystique. Riggs masterfully builds suspense while revealing new information about the peculiars' world, making it at once sinister and captivating. A surprising twist at the end will keep readers on the edge of their seats and leaves the story poised for a third installment. Ideal for fans of Neil Gaiman and Daniel Kraus, Hollow City blends fantasy and horror into a world that will engross readers and leave them eager for more. --Julia Smith, blogger and former children's bookseller