When She Woke by Hillary Jordan. Algonquin Books New York: 2011. In the not-too distant-future, Hannah Payne is raised in a strict evangelical family in Texas. She becomes pregnant after an affair with an well-known married man and has an illegal abortion. After the procedure, she is arrested by the police, and sentenced to "melachroming"- her skin is dyed completely red by an injection for an easy identification of her crime. Hannah's whereabouts are monitored by a tracking system, and life as a societal pariah subsequently estranges her from her family and friends. This futuristic novel is a modern "Scarlet Letter" which boldly confronts the sexual ambiguities of contemporary society by projecting them into a future time-line. The author's first novel, Mudbound, was awarded the 2006 Bellwether Prize for fiction, and an Alex Award from the American Library Association

The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta. St. Martin's Press New York: 2011 The Sudden Departure- the vanishing of people world-wide, has a life-changing impact on the small town of Mapleton. Kevin, the newly elected mayor, must come to terms with his wife leaving for the Guilty Remnant, a post SD cult whose adherents live a Spartan existence and take vows of silence. Kevin becomes involved with Nora, who lost her entire family in the SD, and confronts the emotional issues of his teen-aged daughter, Jill. His son Tom, has dropped out of college and is a follower of a new false prophet, Holy Wayne. This is a bizarre, convoluted story, which will absorb the reader with its absurd tenuous connections to reality. The author has written six books of fiction, including "Wishbones" and "Joe College". His web site is tomperrotta.net

Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan. Nan A. Talese( Random House) New York :2012. An intriguing novel by the acclaimed British author. Serena Frome, the beautiful daughter of an Anglican Bishop, becomes romantically involved with an older man who influences her to pursue a career in M15- British intelligence. At first Serena is a mere secretary, and eventually is groomed for a field assignment. She co-opts a struggling author Tom Haley, who appears anti-communist. It is the early 1970's and M15 bankrolls authors whose influence will help to foster pro-western sentiment. Serena and Tom become romantically involved as he experiences a meteoric rise to prominence courtesy of M15. Difficulties ensue with their relationship as Serena cannot confess her true identity. An entangled tale, and gripping in its intensity until the novel's end. The author has written fourteen books, and has been awarded a number of prestigious prizes including the Man-Booker for Amsterdam, and The Child in Time which won the Whitbread Award. The author's web site is ianmcewan.com

Arcadia by Lauren Groff. Hyperion 2012. The story of 60's commune life as viewed from the perspective of a little boy. Bit, the son of Hannah and Abraham, was born on the commune in rural Pennsylvania. We are witnesses to the development of the commune: the in-fighting, poverty, culture, building and eventual demise through the eyes of the main character to manhood. Eventually, Bit will move to the "outside" exhibiting and teaching photography. His life is colored with his immersion in the commune: boyhood friends, parents, elders, and temporary dwellers. Throughout the novel there is the dominating presence of nature- Bit brings this to the city along with his past. This is a captivating, raw and spiritually penetrating novel. Stylisting flowing, and encompassing depth on many levels. The author's web site is http://laurengroff.com/

Winter of the World by Ken Follett. Dutton( Penguin Group USA) New York: 2012. Book two of this historical trilogy continues in Britain, the USA, and Russia, with the rise of the Nazi party to the post-war period in the late forties. The main characters of the first book have aged, and the plot evolves around the lives of their children. Ethel Williams is now in Parliament, and her son Lloyd soldiers in both the Spanish revolution and World War ll. Lev Peskov's daughter Daisy, struggles with her insecure social status in Buffalo, being shunned by the upper class elite. Her social fortunes will take a curious turn... Lev's son by his mistress Marga becomes an important character- a well educated rogue who will serve in the State Department. Lev's brother in Russia becomes prominent in the new Soviet dictatorship. His son, Volodya, is a clandestine player in Russian-American diplomatic circles. This is an historically scintillating page turner. The author's work both entertains and provides incisive historical insights for the reader. First chapters and a detailed explanation of the book are found on his web site kenfollett.com The author has also written the best-selling novels: The Pillars of the Earth, Eye of the Needle, World Without End, and Fall of the Giants, the first book in the trilogy.

The Impossible lives of Greta Wells by Andrew Sean Greer.Ecco ( division of Harper Collins) :2013. Greta, living in New York City in 1986, encounters great emotional difficulties: she has broken up with a long time lover, Nathan; her brother recently died of AIDS. Greta undergoes shock treatment to alleviate her depression. However, after each treatment she time travels to 1918, 1941, and subsequently returns to 1986. Greta is in the same apartment in NYC, yet assumes different identities: in 1918 and 1941 she is the wife of Nathan under different historical circumstances. In 1918, Felix, her late brother, is engaged to a Senator's daughter, while secretly involved in relationships with men. In 1941, Felix is her young son. Her aunt Ruth appears as a confidante in all three eras. As Greta time travels, her attempts to address the issues of her 1986 life will eventually lead her to make a most unusual choice. Wonderfully gripping. The author wrote the best-selling "The Story of Marriage" and "The Confessions of Max Tivol". His web page is andrewgreer.com

Raw by Mark Haskell Smith. Grove Atlantic: 2013. Sepp is an overnight sensation on the reality show Sex Crib. He is devastated by his failed relationship with Roxy, who appeared with him on the show, and he is experiencing erectile dysfunction due to the breakup. Curtis, a talented writer whose books are not well-known, is hired to ghostwrite a book about Sepp. The book is a hit, and is surprisingly critiqued as as important literature. Curtis' identity is kept secret, and the public assumes that the book was written by the reality show star. Harriet, a well-known literary blogger, suspects that the book is ghostwritten, and she follows Sepp on his book tour to uncover the truth. A steamy turn of events ensues. This is a funny sexually charged novel with a contemporary tone which paints the vanity and sad truths of reality shows. Highly recommended to a wide readership. In addition to four other novels, the author has written Award Winning Screenplays and some television shows. The author's web site is markhaskellsmith.com

All That Is by James Salter. Random House 2013.  Phillip Bowman survives naval battles off of Okinawa and returns to the United States, finding work in a small publishing firm. Bowman is well educated and urbane. This romantically tantalizing novel follows Bowman through his failed marriage and fleeting romantic relationships. Although he is well adjusted emotionally, he is often attracted to adventurous, independent women who do not remain permanently in stable relationships with him. There are fascinating depictions of the many characters in this novel, who weave themselves in and out of Bowman's life. He is not a victim- rather a man who does not totally connect with those around him. A rapturous read and highly recommended to fiction lovers. The author won the Pen/Faulkner Award for Dusk and Other Stories in 1989. He has also written Solo Faces, Light Years, A Sport and a Pastime ,The Arm of Flesh (revised as Cassada), and The Hunters; the memoirs Gods of Tin and Burning the Days. Treacherous Paradise by Henning Mankell. Random House :2013. Hannah Renstrom grew up impoverished in turn of the 20th century Sweden. Eventually, her position as a maid in a wealthy man's house leads to an opportunity to work on a ship bound for Australia. However, a sudden turn during the voyage leads her to Portuguese East Africa. She marries and ends up owning a bordello. Although Hannah is wealthy, her life in Africa dispels no illusions. The native black population is impoverished and abused by the ruling white class. This is coming-of-age story is staged in colonial Africa. Hannah's innate sense of humanity is challenged in a social climate that is regulated by racial divide. An entertaining, reflective read. The author is the first recipient of the Ripper Award, and he has received the Glass Key and the Golden Dagger Awards. The author is best known for his Kurt Wallander Detective series.

Visible City by Tovah Mirvis. Houghton Mufflin Harcourt : 2014. Life in a affluent New York neighborhood is usually perceived as anonymous. Nina, an attorney who is currently a stay-at-home Mom, spends part of her day as a voyeur- viewing the intimate world of an apartment across the street. Eventually, she befriends the people living in the apartment and is privy to the more intimate details of their lives. There is a shared sense of longing and loneliness shared by Nina and her new friends. The author deftly exposes the anxiety of her characters who possess a hidden emotional alienation not revealed to their intimates. This is highly recommended to readers who enjoy intense psycological fiction. The author's previous two books are"The Outside World" and "The Ladies Auxiliary." She has written for The New York Times, Good House Keeping, and Poets and Writers. She has a been a visiting scholar at the Brandeis University Women's Research Center. Her web site is tovismirvis.com

Scent of Butterflies  by Dora Levy Mossanen. Sourcebooks/Landmark: 2014. An unusual setting for a contemporary Jewish novel- contemporary Iran. Soraya and her family lived well under the reign of the Shahs, for whom her grandmother worked as the jeweler setting the diamonds in the crowns of both Shah Pahlavi and his son, Mohammad Reza. The opening of the novel begins in Los Angeles, where Soraya is now living in an exquisite mansion with her family servants, while her husband and extended family remain in Iran. The story goes back and forth from tales about her close-knit Jewish family life in Teheran to her alienated self-imposed exile in L.A. We learn eventually of the treachery by an intimate in Soraya's life and her struggle to resolve it. Highly recommended for readers interested in Iranian- Jewish culture. The author was born in Israel, moved to Iran, and with the onset of the revolution, settled in LA. She has written the best-selling novels, Harem, Courtesan, and The Last Romanov. The author is a recipient of the San Diego Editor's choice award. She blogs for the Huffington Post Huffington Post and the Jewish Journal.Her web site is doralevymossanen.com/

Inside Madeline by Paula Bomer. Soho Press : 2014. A collection of riveting short stories wielding raw sexuality as a tool of self-destruction. Each main character is indelibly scarred by her sexual experiences. They are young contemporary American women- all lacking a direction in their lives. The narration and the sexual descriptions in these stories are unsettling and brazen. There is a drifting hopelessness to the stories which are not relieved by denouement. Recommended for readers of contemporary alternative fiction. The author has a written a novel, Nine Months and a story collection, Baby, Baby. She is the publisher of Sententia Books, and a contributor to the literary blog- The Big Other.

The Museum of Extraordinary Things.by Alice Hoffman. Simon and Schuster: 2014. We are cast into the world of turn of the century New York, a city which struggled to retain its natural wonders amidst a booming immigrant population. Coralie is the daughter of an entrepreneur who owns a freak show, The Museum of Extraordinary Things. Her father is sinister: abusing his employees, exhibiting his own daughter as a "mermaid," and conducting Frankensteinian experiments in his laboratory. Coralie is forced by her father to swim the Hudson River at night in search for a legendary monster. During one of her swims, she collides with a drowned swimmer who she brings to the shore. Her father takes the swimmer's body back to museum and experiments with it in his laboratory in order to exhibit the body as the discovered monster. Eddie, who was raised as an Orthodox Jew and now is a professional photographer, also frequents the area of the river where the body is found. The identity of the swimmer becomes intertwined with the lives of Eddie and Coralie. The world of turn of the century New York is vibrantly alive in this enchanting and historically rich novel. The author has written twenty-eight fiction works, including the most recent "The Dovekeepers". Her web site is alicehoffman..com

Alena by Rachel Pastan. Random House: 2014. This novel is a restaging of Daphne du Maurier's "Rebecca". The unnamed narrator of the novel, a young assisant curator from the Mid-West, meets the founder of a Cape Cod avant-garde museum, Bernard, at the Venice Bienalle. She is offered a job as the chief curator, and abruptly departs to Cape Cod to begin her new position. The Nauk museum is remote, and the presence of its late curator, Alena, has cast a pall over the museum. Alena, a boyhood friend of Bernard, was a wild, free-sprit in both her lifestyle and artistic choices. She recently disappeared while swimming and is presumed dead. There is an air of secrecy surrounding the museum- as if Alena's presence is necessary for continuing its spirit and direction. The narrator is viewed as an interloper and is not warmly accepted by the staff and associates of the museum. It is only towards the end of the novel that the truth about Alena's disappearance is revealed. Readers who enjoy the backdrop of remote Cape Cod will especially enjoy this novel. The author has written two previous novels and awarded prizes for her fiction. She is on the faculty of Bennington Writing Seminars and an editor-at-large for the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia. Her web site is rachelpastan.com.