Margherita Dolce Vita* by Stefano Benni.
“An elegant little piece of dark comedy” by a prolific Italian author (FFF in translation). Wise and charismatic 15 yr.-old Margherita and her odd-ball family are transformed by their new neighbors from hell.

Harlem Girl Lost* by Treasure E. Blue.
A bright young woman fights her way out of the mean streets of New York, only to be drawn back in to save her man. A lurid, gripping debut and a self-publishing sensation.

Last Seen Leaving* by Kelly Braffet.
New Age spiritualist searches for her estranged daughter who has not been seen after being picked up by a stranger on a deserted highway, while a serial killer is on the loose. Gripping.

Love in a Fallen City* by Eileen Chang (Ailing Zhang).
Six vibrant stories depict life in post WWII China and bristle with equal parts passion and resentment.

Eifelheim* by Michael Flynn.
Young modern historian obsesses with the mysterious disappearance of a German village from all maps during the Black Death. The story intersects with the heartbreaking saga of stranded aliens from a distant star.

Vince and Joy* by Lisa Jewell.
Tired of all the heavy stuff around? Try this deliciously addictive read filled with London oddballs. First loves reunite after 17 years of miscommunication, disappointments and all the things life throw at you. Romantic.

The Sky People* by S.M. Stirling.
First of a new alternate history series with "broad-brush pulp sensibility". Space colonization and a classic love triangle.

The Orphan's Tales : In the night garden* by Catherynne Valente.
“A beautiful relayed, interlinked fairy tales” of magic, adventure, quests and murder, told by a mysterious young woman with tattoos around her eyelids. Think Sheherezade and the Arabian Nights.

Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall* by Bill Willingham.
Re-imagined new lives and backstories for fairyland citizens , the likes of Snow White and the Big Bad Wolf, now living as secret refugees in New York - probably the “smartest mainstream comics going”.

*= Starred Review(s)

A Corpse in the Koryo* introduces, to global mystery fans a new and exciting series starring Inspector O of the Pyongyang Police Department (North Korea).

This hard-boiled, police procedural begins with a seemingly routine surveillance assignment that turns nasty, pitching a pragmatic and honorable detective against the competing military and intelligence hierarchies.

First-time author James Church (pseudonym) is a former intelligence office with decades of experience in Asia. This outstanding crime novel boasts believable characters and situations, and is "richly layered and visually evocative". A must-read.

All-starred reviews in Booklist, Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly.

For his Chinese (Shanghai) counterpart, try the latest in the Inspector Chen series (A Case of Two Cities,* 2006) by Qiu Xiaolong - another honest detective struggling to be true under a repressive regime.

*= Starred review.

I know Halloween overshadowed (no pun intended) everything on October 31, but we must also remember John Keats who was born on that day, as well as his cronies Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. John Keats was born on October 31, 1795 and died an untimely death from tuberculosis on February 23, 1821. Shelley and Byron also died young, leaving only William Wordsworth, the father of the Romantic poets to live to a ripe old age.

A new novel, Passion by Jude Morgan looks at the lives of their wives and lovers including Mary Shelley and Fanny Brawne.] Morgan's novel gives us a glimpse of early nineteenth century life where these women flouted the more rigid conventions of the time and created their own identities apart from the men they loved.

When a young girl is murdered and mutilated and another disappears in Wind Gap, Mo., Chicago Daily Post reporter Camille Preaker returns to her hometown to cover the story. She is less than surprised with the cold reception after her long absence, especially at her mother's house.

Fans of Shirley Jackson and Minette Walters will welcome this debut psychological thriller by Gillian Flynn. In Sharp Objects, she writes "fluidly about small-town America", but what distinguishes this gruesome tale is the skills with which she misdirects the reader, allowing secrets to unfold only towards the shocking ending.

Flynn (Author interview) is the lead television critic for Entertainment Weekly, and Sharp has been endorsed by both Stephen King and Harlan Coben. Starred review in Library Journal. Can the film rights be far behind? Stay tuned.

In addition to "The Tempest" brewing at Power Center, there's a storm of wills in Elizabeth Nunez's latest book, Prospero's Daughter. Dr. Peter Gardner has been exiled to Trinidad with his daughter, Virginia, after the discovery of a gruesome experiment he performed on a human subject. In this reworking of Shakespeare's play, Nunez poses questions about race and class. Carlos, a Caliban of sorts, is a mixed race orphan who has been living with the Gardner's. He and Virginia have fallen in love. When Gardner who is depicted as a racist lunatic finds out, he accuses Carlos of attempted rape. At the same time, he sexually abuses his native servant, Ariana. Into this mix comes John Mumsford of the British police who fears an uprising of natives against British rule in Trinidad's quest for independence and uses Carlos as an example of the continued stability of his country's authority.

For other fiction that takes place in Trinidad, try:
A Perfect Pledge by Rabindranath Maharaj and
A Thirst for Rain by Roslyn Carrington.

Edward Glyver - booklover, scholar, and murderer is the narrator in this exemplary blend of intrigue, history and romance, marking a standout literary debut with The Meaning of Night: A confession by Michael Cox. It took the author 30 years to complete, and snagged him the highest advance in publication history. Read more.

Glyver always believes he is destined for greatness, but standing between him and his rightful inheritance is his archnemesis, the poet-criminal Phoebus Rainsford Daunt. Resourceful Eddy will stop at nothing to claim what is his.

Fans of Wilkie Collins, Iain Pears, and David Liss would appreciate the expectedly wicked twists, and the well drawn cast of characters. Anyone interested in scrupulously researched background and details of everyday Victorian life, as in Michel Faber’s The Crimson Petal and the White and Sarah Waters’s Fingersmith would find an enthralling and suspenseful read here.

All-starred reviews from Booklist, Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly. Highly recommended.

Read about public-radio journalist and author Katherine Lanpher's move to the Big Apple in her new book Leap Days: Chronicles of a Midlife Move. She left Minnesota on Leap Day 2004 for a chance to work with Al Franken in New York, and explores many topics in this collection of essays, including religion, middle age, and parenthood. You can listen to her on Talk of the Nation.

Nicaraguan writer Gioconda Belli has taken the compelling and dark tale of Juana of Castile, daughter of Isabelle and Ferdinand and mother of many monarchs, and spun it into a novel called The Scroll of Seduction, which was recently translated into English. Read an excerpt of the novel or listen to Jacki Lyden speak with Belli about her new book on All Things Considered.

The October 1st Library Journal lists the best and the brightest FFF of the past year. We hit most of them but admittedly; there were a few we just didn't get around to. Here are the ones that caught our eyes. We won’t want YOU to miss them. Look for them on our New Books shelves.

The fugitive wife by Peter C. Brown. “Enormously satisfying” (NYTimes) tale of a woman who remakes herself during the Alaskan gold rush.

Riley’s Fire by Lee Merrill Byrd. An accidental fire transforms Riley, an adventurous, inquisitive seven-year old boy. A 4-star “Critics’ Choice” in People Weekly.

The Dream Life of Sukhanov* by Olga Grushin. Soviet art critic’s disillusionment. A finalist for the LA Book Prize and short-listed for the Orange Prize.

Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow by Faïza Guène. Growing up in Paradise Estate - a Paris housing project for Muslim immigrants. Published when the author was a 19- yr.old university student. A bestseller in Europe.

Holmes on the Range* by Steve Hockensmith. Two Montana cowboys playing Holmes and Watson when all they expect is hard work, bad pay, and a comfortable campfire to read up on their hero, Sherlock. What fun!

The Blight Way: A Sheriff Bo Tully Mystery by Patrick McManus. Blight County, Idaho’s Sheriff Bo - smart, sneaky and relentless, is forced to put on his sleuthing hat in this very funny debut mystery.

The Natural History of Uncas Metcalfe by Betsey Osborne. "An unforgettable hero as he struggles to right himself and adapt to changing expectations, even as he approaches the end of his life".

Rose of No Man’s Land* by Michelle Tea. “A whirlwind exploration of dropouts, tattoos, and drugs, and the love story of two atypical girls” – gritty and disturbing.

* = Starred Review(s)

Fans of Cornelia Funke’s Inkheart will have to wait a little longer to get their hands on the final installment of the trilogy. According to Funke, the “working title is Inkdeath,” and it could be released some time in 2007. While you’re waiting, check out Funke’s new series for younger readers, Ghosthunters, or one of her fantastic novels for older kids, like The Thief Lord—I’m currently listening to the audio book, and it’s so good that I make excuses to get back into the car and listen to another chapter. Finally, if you’re especially patient, start counting the days until the Inkheart movie is released in 2008!

Already a bestseller and a household name in European publishing, mystery readers in the US are just now discovering Fred Vargas.

Her (yes, no mistake here, her!) first title to be translated from the French, Have Mercy On Us All is an engaging police procedural with a strong tie to her interest in medieval history. Someone in modern day Paris is recreating the Black Plague epidemic and bodies are piling up.

Look for her new title in the same series Seeking Whom He May Devour : Chief Inspector Adamsberg investigates.

Interested in mysteries set abroad? Read Library Journal’s Mystery Goes Global.