One-Way Ticket by William G. Tapply

One-Way Ticket by William G. Tapply is another Brady Coyne mystery as reliable as any in the series. It may be more weakly plotted than some. It involves Boston mobsters, people with gambling addictions, and Brady's lover Evie leaving for San Francisco to be with her dying father. There are more than the usual number of references to Brady's friend J.W. Jackson, and the book is dedicated to Tapply's friend Philip Craig, the author of the Martha's Vineyard mysteries featuring J.W., who died last year.
Clearly elements of the story were inspired by and/or intended as tribute to Craig, which gives it a resonance and weight it wouldn't otherwise have. ***
If reading one of these is like watching a Red Sox game, this is like watching a not-especially well-played playoff game that they manage to win.

The Crime Writer by Gregg Hurwitz

I stopped reading The Crime Writer by Gregg Hurwitz after about 30 pages, thinking it was dwelling too much on mood and emotion. A couple days later I decided to give it a couple more chapters to catch me, and it did. Andrew Danner, a writer of series detective stories has been accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend, but acquitted on grounds of temporary insanity due to a brain tumor. He has amnesia and isn't even sure himself that he didn't kill her.
His ex-baseball-player friend tells him he's in a game; his editor tells him he's in a story. Even with all this cutesy, wink-wink stuff going on -- The chapter after the editor tells him, "What you need is something to kick down the front door, come barreling into the plot, crashing into the story," an LAPD SWAT team breaks down his door, and he's accused of another murder that he's able to ascertain he didn't commit -- the story rises to the level of a weak Robert Crais or Lee Child book (both of them provided blurbs for the cover, and Crais gets strongly Acknowledged). It seems Hurwitz has read his share of Michael Connolly too. So I'll say ***, but I feel a little dirty for doing so. That said, if you read editorial reviews, everybody seems to like it without any of the reservations I've expressed.

The Black Diamond Detective Agency by Mr. Eddie Campbell

The Black Diamond Detective Agency by Mr. Eddie Campbell is another "historical" graphic novel. Set in the "old" west and Chicago just on the cusp of the twentieth century. The hero is a gangster who teams up with the title agency to hunt down ex-partners who set him up, only to get back together with a woman who sold him out to them. Great story, distinctive style, echoes of the Pinkertons and of CSI. ****

Age of Bronze: Betrayal Part One by Eric Shanower

In Age of Bronze: Betrayal Part One, Eric Shanower continues his mega-epic retelling of the Trojan War. Scholarship, draftsmanship, and storytelling combine in a work for the ages. This book begins with the Greeks sailing (again) for Troy, and ends on the eve of battle. Much of the action takes place within Troy itself. Paris, Hector, Helen, and, of course, Priam are major characters. Among the Greeks the focus is on Achilles, Menelaus, and my long-time favorite, Odysseus (who is not admirable in this telling).
For lovers of graphic novels, and lovers of mythology. ****
Here's a link to Shanower's web site. Here's an extended review.

Shakespeare by Bill Bryson

As you'll read in most any extended review (like these two or this one) Shakespeare by Bill Bryson separates the little that is known about Shakespeare from the mass of ill-founded speculation and outright fantasy that has been written about him. Then Bryson builds a logical and entertaining portrait of the man and his times.
A slim volume, easy to read, not the best of Bryson, but still darn good. You have to be curious about Shakespeare or like Bryson's work (I'm a huge fan), or both. But if you want to know about Shakespeare, there's no reason to look elsewhere. ****
Here's an excerpt; check it out.

Lois on the Loose by Lois Pryce

Lois Pryce bails out on her job at the BBC to ride a dirt bike from Alaska to Argentina. In Lois on the Loose, she tells the story of the ride with a good-humored, funny style. It's a quick read, and a fun story. Her matter-of-fact way of just keeping on regardless of obstacles may lead you to underestimate just how tough she had to be to complete the ride. ***+
Click on the title to visit Pryce's website; when I did, I learned that she has since ridden through Africa, and has a book out on that trip, too.

All*Star Superman Volume 1 by Grant Morrison + Frank Quitely

A cover blurb on All*Star Superman Volume 1 by Grant Morrison + Frank Quitely reads, "A stirringly mythic, emotionally resonan and gloriously alternative take on the Man of Steel." And that captures it in a nutshell. These stories work in all the elements any long-time reader of Superman will know (some I didn't know about, but they were used in an allusive way). Very creative writing and art. I do think you have to know the back story at least a little, and like comic books, to appreciate it. ****