Bethanne Patrick

Martin Cruz Smith's new World War II thriller follows a Venetian fisherman who saves a Jewish girl from pursuing Nazis — a predictable scenario, but one that surprisingly never goes stale.

Shari Lapena's novel about a couple whose baby daughter goes missing while they're at a dinner party next door strikes at the heart of parenting fears — but falls down as a police procedural.

Ben H. Winters' new novel is set in a modern-day America in which almost everything seems normal — except for the fact that the Civil War never happened, and slavery is still legal in four states.

Susie Steiner's latest follows two very different women: the mother of a missing girl, and the detective who searches for her. Come for the police procedural; stay for the layered, complex characters.

The latest installment in Alan Furst's Night Soldiers series opens on a grey spring day in occupied Paris. It follows Mathieu, a small-time Resistance leader and fundamentally good man.

L.S. Hilton's new book, the first in a trilogy, follows the aptly-named Judith Rashleigh on a wild ride of sex parties, private yachts, and behavior just as shallow and selfish as any male character.

Lyndsay Faye's new Jane Steele reimagines the classic Victorian heroine as a killer with a heart of gold, who refuses to settle for her historical lot and strikes out at men who try to abuse her.

Veteran reporter Fiona Barton brings a journalist's eye to her fiction debut, the story of a woman thrust into the spotlight after her husband — accused of a terrible crime — dies in an accident.

Ed Tarkington's debut, Only Love Can Break Your Heart, mixes mystery and coming-of-age in a lush Southern Gothic setting. Critic Bethanne Patrick says despite some missteps, it's beautifully written.

Two academics from Germany, writing as Sara Moliner, have recreated a sepia-toned 1950s Barcelona in this new mystery novel. Critic Bethanne Patrick says City's strength is in its variety of women.