Book Reviews

Erika Carter's intelligent, unpretentious debut follows an aimless group of friends in their 20s, whose lives spin out of control during a supposedly detoxifying trip to a remote house in the country.

Leonardo Padura returns to one of his favorite characters — broken-down Cuban gumshoe Mario Conde — and puts him on the trail of a missing Rembrandt in his gorgeously written new novel Heretics.

Kim Stanley Robinson envisions a future that's closer than we like to think in New York 2140. Sea levels 50 feet higher have swamped Manhattan, but there's a tiny thread of hope that we might float.

Elif Batuman has sung the praises of "long novels, pointless novels," and she puts her money where her mouth is with The Idiot, a tale of youthful confusion that can be both boring and beautiful.

Kanishk Tharoor's collection of short stories explores the complicated relationship between language and technology. Tharoor's rich voice and immaculate craftsmanship both comfort and unnerve.

The Inexplicable Logic of My Life is as much a doorstopper as any young adult fantasy novel, but the world it builds is inside the head of teenaged Sal, who's struggling with difficult new emotions.

Rockabilly singer J.D. Wilkes hints at supernatural happenings in his novel about an unbelievable adventure through a kudzu-infested forest in western Kentucky.

Lydia Edwards gives a knowledgeable introduction to Western European dresses. It feels bare at times but Edwards is more interested in providing insights rather than an extensive history.

Peter Heller's detective novel is a romp — complete with a taking-names heroine, action-packed adventures, and a sense that you've known these characters for years.