Elysiana
As the 1969 summer season begins on the New Jersey barrier island of Elysiana—“an assortment of seashore amenities and profound dissociation”—the cops and the lifeguards prepare for the annual turf war made necessary by a loopy municipal charter and warring city politicians. A druglord arrives in his GTO to murder a local who stiffed him. A drugged-out Chicago girl figuratively washes up on the beach with no clear memory of how she got there, and a local thief and surfer marvels at the ease of stealing eight-track tape players from cars. A full baker’s dozen major characters swirl and collide as if in Brownian motion, moved by elemental forces like wind and tide and lesser things like work and whim. Signs and portents hint that something life changing, if not quite apocalyptic, will affect them all. Elysiana is a departure for Knopf, whose Sam Acquillo mysteries have won reviewers’ raves, but he nails it. The seemingly shambling plot proves ultimately to be sly, and Knopf’s sweet-spirited style recalls memories spurred by faded home movies of long-ago vacations. His bio says that he was a New Jersey lifeguard back in the day, and he captures the zeitgeist of the Shore perfectly. Every “shoobie” on the beach who eschews MTV’s odious Jersey Shore should be reading Elysiana this season. –Booklist, Starred Review
, 2009) finds the licensed PI and professional wizard Harry Dresden confronted with some shocking news: he has an eight-year-old daughter, and she’s been kidnapped by Red Court vampires. Harry is willing to risk everything to rescue her, even if it means turning his own life upside down. At more than 500 pages, this is one the longest books in the series, but it doesn’t move slowly; in fact, the entire novel takes place over only a few days as Harry races to rescue his daughter before she is sacrificed in a powerful black-magic rite. The taut and sometimes twisty plot is full of surprises and changes for Harry and his friends and family. Changes is a compelling installment in what continues to be an outstanding series. All the regulars (including cop Murphy; Harry’s half brother, vampire Thomas; Sanya the Knight; and Harry’s apprentice, Molly) are featured, as they, too, risk everything to save Harry’s daughter. After the cliff-hanger ending, readers will be clamoring for the next book. A can’t-miss entry in one of the best urban-fantasy series currently being published. –Booklist, Starred Review
at #16 on the New York Times hardcover list and to Jim Butcher with 
