The World of Raymond Chandler ,Edited by Barry Day, Vintage Books – Raymond Chandler’s work typifies the pulp fiction era, with his stable of hard-boiled wisecracking private eyes, Philip Marlowe being among the most well known.

A Song of Shadows, John Connolly, Emily Bestler Books–Charlie Parker, PI. The name has struck fear into the hearts of wrongdoers for years.

Beatlebone, Kevin Barry, Doubleday–John Lennon – a legend in his lifetime, lives a life in his own legend. It’s May, 1978. John is thirty-seven, going on thirty-eight, and he hasn’t written music worth the name for years.

Growing Tomorrow, Forrest Pritchard, The Experiment Publishing, LLC–Farmer-author Forrest Pritchard took a road trip across America from coast to coast to see sustainability in organic food production in action.

The Gingerbread Man Loose at Christmas, Laura Murray, Illustrator Mike Lowery, G.P. Putnam’s Sons–Run, run as fast as you can to catch this charming twist on a classic tale, The Gingerbread Man Loose at Christmas.

A Kind of Grief, A. D. Scott, Atria Paperback–The northeast of Scotland in 1959 is a beautiful and tranquil place, remote and unchanging, which is how journalist Joanne Ross likes it.

Joan of Arc: A Life Transfigured, Kathryn Harrison, Anchor Books–Revered and reviled in almost equal measure during her short tumultuous life, Joan of Arc is still a popular and contentious figure nearly six hundred years after her death.

Art in the Blood, Bonnie MacBird, Collins Crime Club–London, winter, 1888. A desperate call for help from Mrs. Hudson brings newlywed Dr. Watson to Sherlock Holmes’ side once more.

Shriver, Chris Belden, Touchstone Books–Shriver is a contented recluse, living in his apartment with a tuxedo cat, Mr. Bojangles, when he receives an invitation to take part in a writers’ conference at a Midwestern college.

The God’s Eye View, Barry Eisler, Thomas & Mercer–Evelyn Gallagher has a nice career in the NSA, analyzing video footage from all over the world in search of threats to the United States.