Booklists · Beyond Bestsellers: Notable New Fiction Titles (September 2009)

Danny, a New Orleans lawyer and real estate specialist, must protect Louis Sams from both the Mafia and the federal government after Sams blows the cover of a concrete manufacturer’s ties to the Mob. When Katrina hits, Danny must battle nature’s grip and the collapse of social order. “Brilliantly executed, Abel explores decency and grace in the face of human brutality and natural disaster.” (Publishers Weekly)

Six-year-old Luke Nightingale, unhappy living alone with his mother on the Upper East Side, is pleased to meet a new friend, Danny, in Central Park. But is Danny a true friend or troublemaker. And is he real or imaginary? As Luke grows up, his growing involment with Danny and the boy's sinister manipulations endangers both Luke and his relationship with his mother. Kirkus Reviews says, “DeLeeuw debuts with a strange tale seething with disturbing psychological overtones...Hitchcock would have loved the premise."

Australian writer Kane gives a nod to Orwell’s Animal Farm, in this satirical hard-boiled thriller featuring bull terrier detective Crusher McNash, and Siamese cat sleuth Cassius Lap. McNash and Lap are hot on the tail of the killer of gangster Rottweilers, while in pursuit of a serial killer feline, in this hilarious and witty crime noir Booklist calls “one of the best mysteries of 2009.”

Fans of Lisa See will enjoy this graceful portrayal of a young girl’s journey of self-discovery during the Japanese occupation of Korea in the early 19th century. Najin longs to attend college, but her father has chosen for her a traditional life. When Najin’s mother provides the opportunity for advancement by allowing her to attend the royal court, Najin must find a way to safeguard her future, as Japan imposes its regime to destroy ancient Korean culture. “A beautiful, deliberate and satisfying story spanning 30 years of Korean history.” (Publishers Weekly)

College companions Henry, Tess, and Suz—the self-proclaimed “Compassionate Dismantlers”---go a little too far one day in their zealous quest to test their manifesto “to understand the nature of a thing, it must be taken apart.” The triumvirate’s philosophical quest leads to Suz’s death. Now a decade later and married with a young daughter, Henry and Tess face their demons in this gripping supernatural novel Booklist calls a “fresh and entrancing ghost-in-the woods tale.”

An unnerving and psychologically calculating glimpse into JFK’s private life that illuminates dirty secrets, family relationships both devoted and estranged, and Kennedy’s brilliant statesmanship. Mercurio provocatively intersperses excerpts of JFK’s famous speeches throughout, while all of the major players make stellar and memorable appearances-- Jacqueline Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra and Nikita Khrushchev. Kirkus Reviews salutes Mercurio’s third, compelling novel as “stylish, intelligent, often persuasive revisionist history."

Setiawan’s novel of magic realism portrays the coming of age of Meridia, from her lonely, broken childhood to her marriage oto loving and faithful Daniel. Swirling amidst clouds of yellow mist, swarms of stinging bees, and a deceitful mother-in-law, Meridia combats heartbreak with courage. Booklist says, “writing with a fairy tale sensibility, Seitawan cloaks every aspect of the novel in magic, spells, and ghosts both actual and imaginary…this is a marvel.”

Will Henderson, lost in a cornfield, witnesses the three signs of the rapture. Will’s family decides that their destiny is upon them and begin to prepare accordingly, while others in the community are torn between belief and bewilderment. A gripping novel of the apocalypse from the author of The Almost True Story of Ryan Fisher.