Atlantic City Weekly

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The War Against Miss Winters
by Kathryn Miller Haines
(HarperCollins)
317 pages, $13.95
Step back in time with this delightful light mystery. Rosie Winters is a plucky actress trying to make it on Broadway, even if World War II has limited the theatrical options. To make an extra buck, she works part time for a private eye, who she finds hanging in his office. Even though she didn't want to get involved, it's left to her to figure out who would have wanted to kill her boss, and why. If she doesn't, it could mean harm to herself, and her friends. Expect lots of era-appropriate details (even if it's a bit too heavy on the slang) as you follow Winters' hunt for the killer.

Barefoot by Elin Hilderbrand
(Little, Brown and Company)
416 pages, $24.99
They all have a reason to escape to the little cottage in Nantucket: Vicki just found out she has lung cancer and needs to relax while she undergoes chemo. Her sister, Brenda, was fired from her teaching job for sleeping with a student (who was older) and causing slight damage to a priceless work of art. Melanie, Vicki's friend, just found out her husband was cheating on her, quickly followed by the realization she was pregnant. Add in two kids and a gorgeous, confused young male babysitter, and you have a beach read that walks the fine line of tragedy and comedy, and does it well.

Dreaming in Libro
by Louise Bernikow
(DeCapo)
202 pages, $22.95
Forget Marley -- pick up this delightful memoir and follow the ups and downs that was Louise Bernikow's life with Libro, a stray 60-pound boxer who followed her home. This is her second dog-related book (the first was Bark If You Love Me, a San Francisco Chronicle bestseller). This volume includes Libro's stint as a therapy dog after 9/11, their co-trips on Bernikow's book tours, and a summer in the Hamptons. If you own a dog, you'll see a lot of yourself in the humors and sorrows that come with letting a four-legged friend into your life.

Crooked Little Vein
by Warren Ellis
(William Morrow)
288 pages, $21.95
This one's not for the light of heart -- Ellis is a comic book author and a pro at writing brutally about the down and out. In this case, the down is Michael McGill, a private detective on the verge of giving up. The out is the White House Chief of Staff, a heroin addict who calls on McGill to help him find the "real" version of the Constitution. But this is no National Treasure, and it's not for kids. Instead, it's a brusque, ribald and trippy ride where McGill's only way out is finding a document he never knew existed.

Babymouse Beach Babe
by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm
(Random House)
96 pages, $5.95
School's out, and Babymouse is ready to hit the waves! But life isn't always a beach, and the heroine of this just-for-girls graphic novel series must do battle with the heat, the crowds and the surf. Plus, her parents are giving her mandatory babysitting duties. What's a beach babe wannabe to do? Find out in this funny black, white and pink adventure.

Rat: How the World's Most
Notorious Rodent Clawed Its Way to the Top by Jerry Langton
(St. Martin's Press)
208 pages, $21.95
Sure, you probably think rats are gross, but they're also marvels of evolution. For example, some rats can live in meat lockers -- they grow longer hair, eat more and nestle in carcasses of what they'd eaten. Female rats can become pregnant hours after giving birth, and the gestation period is short enough that litters are continuous. That's why one rat probably means more -- many more. Langton delves into the rat world (coming face to face with a few in the process) in this fact-packed and highly entertaining book. No one will blame you if you're looking over your shoulder -- or underfoot -- when you're done reading.

Grave Matters by Mark Harris
(Scribner)
192 pages, $24
Despite what the title might suggest, Grave Matters isn't a morbid book. Instead, it's a fascinating look at how some people are choosing to be eco-friendly until the very end. From people who put their ashes into reef balls (concrete dropped into the ocean to start coral reefs) to those who are buried in natural cemeteries, Harris sheds light on the people and methods behind preserving the environment in their afterlife.

Without Consent by Kathryn Fox
(Harper)
325 pages, $7.99
It's not easy being a forensic pathologist, let alone a self employed one fighting for the custody of her only child. That's why the last thing Dr. Anya Crichton needs is to get mixed into tracking a serial rapist, as she does in the thrilling Without Consent. Any path she takes could lead to her professional demise, the conviction of an innocent man, or the worst possible outcome of all -- leave a madman on the loose. Which way will she turn? And who will she hurt along the way? You'll have to read to the end to find out.

Hot Dog and Bob by L. Bob Rovetch, Illustrations by Dave Whamond
(Chronicle Books)
96 pages, $4.95
Bob is a normal everyday kid who finds himself in interesting situations since a superhero hot dog jumped out of his lunch box. This time around (it's the third book in the series), Bob must do battle with hamster toys that happen to have incredible hypnotizing powers. As usual, it's up to Bob and Hot Dog to save the world in this zippy adventure written just for kids.

French Trysts by Kirsten Lobe
(St. Martin's Griffin)
320 pages, $13.95
French Trysts isn't your typical American in Paris story. Instead of Gene Kelly dancing through the rues, Kirsten Lobe's new novel gives us an American who becomes a figure that has dominated French culture for centuries -- a Grand Horizontales, or as we might better know them in this country, a courtesan. It's not a pornographic novel, though it does have a few steamy scenes. While the diary format can sometimes be too stream-of-conscious, it's a fast, steamy read for a hot summer day.

Open Me by Sunshine O'Donnell
(MacAdam/Cage)
225 pages, $23
Mem is paid to cry. She's a professional mourner, and she's hired to cry at funerals, as were generations before her. But crying on cue isn't so easy, and her job is actually an illegal practice. The law is catching up with her, and trouble is breathing down Mem's neck. This isn't your typical straight narrative novel. Sunshine O'Donnell includes poetic prose and reproduced documents in her debut novel to give the book a disjointed but beautifully scattered feel.

Bridget Mossman,
Atlantic City, N.J.
Reading: Jack & Jill by James Patterson "It's good. I read all his stuff. It's good if you like crime mysteries."

Hugh Pinder
Mount Laurel, N.J.
Reading: Vanish by Tess Gerritsen "I just started it. My wife gave it to me to read and so far it's really good."

Nicole Trabosh
Washington Township, N.J.
Reading: Velocity by Dean Koontz "I needed a good book to read. So far it's about a bartender who found a note on his car. He took it as nothing, but it's actually something."