Editorial reviews

It’s the kind of historical fiction that launches a thousand Ancestry.com searches and sends readers to their favorite search engine mid-paragraph to find out who is and isn’t an actual historical figure. It’s also something of a feminist tome set in an era before its time, belying its title in a good way.

Readers who approach Children of God from a purely religious standpoint might struggle, but those — from any or no spiritual background — eager to be challenged will find a wonderful story waiting for them in this book.

Brennan’s two plots, which seem to require the services of every law enforcement officer west of the Mississippi, keep the pot boiling but feel less like a tightly braided rope than an endless tug of war.

UNEASY LIES THE CROWN will bring joy to anyone who loves delving into challenging mysteries of the past, particularly those involving British history and the monarchy

THE SPELLBOOK OF KATRINA VAN TASSEL is bewitching, as Palombo’s beautiful and eerie imagery spellbinds the reader with a vivid account of Katrina’s haunting Sleepy Hollow.

Compassion-filled, truthful and page-turningly compelling, ALL YOU CAN EVER KNOW is dexterous, honest work. Exquisite and inquisitive, it gets at the heart of what it means to belong.

The result is an eerie melodrama in which the bloodshed seems more mimed than motivated – and which tosses, almost in passing, a grenade into debates over self-determination, luridly staging the supremacy of biological fact.

As a work of socially engaged fiction, Unsheltered makes a decent case for escapism.

The novel is a brittle, unsettling delight: a fairground ride swooping above vertiginous drops, wringing out laughter and screams as it rattles towards its conclusion.

All of it adds up to a remarkable package, thought-provoking and compelling, as it ricochets between the familiar and the unexpected.

With these six volumes, Karl Ove Knausgaard set out to grapple his life into submission. Here’s a spoiler: He loses the struggle.

Make sure you don’t have to be up early the morning after you start this book.

Preaching to the choir? Yes, but it’s a sermon that seemingly requires constant reiteration.

Schefter’s warm, personable book introduces us to Joe and his impact on so many. It is a fascinating work, well worth reading, even as you grieve over the loss experienced by the Maios.

Though occasionally reminiscent of David Mitchell, Sjón’s work is unlike anything else in contemporary fiction. Strange—but stunning.

This wayward, exciting odyssey confronts death throughout. Nothing is quite what it seems, and there are no easy answers. Here, instead, is an artist preoccupied with questions.

An intimate and resonant take on finding one’s place in the world even while being pulled in opposing directions.

A fully realized vision.