Book Reviews

Gilbert King returns to Lake County, Fla., in his new book, which tells the tangled story of a rape accusation, a racist sheriff, and a mentally disabled white man railroaded and stuck in an asylum.

Patricia Hampl's sharp new book argues that daydreaming is a vital part of life. Maureen Corrigan says, after reading it, "you'll understand more of what makes life worth living."

John Scalzi returns to the world of Lock In -- where people incapacitated by a strange disease can reenter the world through robot avatars — for a murder mystery that turns on a cat named Donut.

This collection of essays by novelist and scholar Joanna Russ was first published in 1983 — but it reads as if it might've come out last week. "Get angry; then get a reading list," says our critic.

Lawrence Wright is at his best in this new examination of his home state — a thoughtful, beautifully written book about a place that can be hard for outsiders to understand.

Chee does include some writing tips in his new How To Write An Autobiographical Novel -- but this collection is less a writing lesson than a deeply considered and beautifully written memoir.

Julian Barnes' latest novel concerns the pained recollections of an aging Englishman's life-changing only love — the "only story" that really matters about him.

As we wait endlessly for spring to really spring, we're consoling ourselves with three new romances — from a designing duke to a spymaster to a straight-laced librarian who lets go for one night.

NPR's Ron Elving says the former FBI director's new memoir is unlikely to convert the committed partisans on either side. Instead, it may well cause further entrenchment.

The latest installment of the Hogarth Shakespeare series sees crime novelist Nesbo taking on the Scottish Play in an adaptation that comes alive the farther he strays from Shakespeare's original.