pp. 385, `499

Bombay is on the brink of annihilation.

By Ian McEwan

Rs 499

Sweet Tooth, much as the misleading name suggests, is not a spy tale. Certainly not in the suave, guns and gadgets explosive loud action James Bond kind of way, nor the quiet, understated but surefooted spywork of George Smiley, and definitely not the modern-day, almost bizarre thriller setting for the 21st century Spooks of MI5.

By Madhulika Liddle

Rs 350

Madhulika Liddle’s detective Muzaffar Jang may not be original as far as private eyes in historical settings go, but he is definitely a first for an aristocrat in 17th century Mughal India.
He’s young, almost too young to be a sought-after detective, is not bestowed with the snootiness which is embraced almost as a privilege by his peers. He has friends in low places, and has a persistent nose for mystery which will dig up even the most reticent and reluctant secrets.

By Mohammed Hanif

RS 499

Mohammed Hanif’s new book is not a hagiography and Alice Bhatti is not a saint. Not unless you believe in saints who swear, can be violent in defence of their religion, and their holy selves, may be even jailed for attempt to murder, and dabble in worldly pleasures of the heart and the flesh.
We meet Alice Bhatti when she’s waiting to be interviewed for the job of Replacement Junior Nurse, Grade 4, at Sacred Heart Hospital for All Ailments.

John Grisham is back with another novel in the Theodore Boone series, The Abduction.

Donté Drumm has been on death row for nine years. The state of Texas has sentenced the 27-year-old to die by lethal injection for the rape and murder of 17-year-old Nicole Yarber, a popular high school cheerleader, in the town of Slone. Drumm, a rising football star when he was arrested in 1998 at age 18, is days away from his end. Another crucial cog: he’s innocent, and he’s black.

The world of vampires evokes both fear and excitement. Vampires are exciting because we humans are scared of them and yet drawn to them.
Stephenie Meyer has made that dark world seem like paradise to teenage girls with her Twilight series, but vampire stories have always had their own audience. It’s evolved into a genre of its own and spawned books, films and TV series.

As if the four-book vampire love series, which became a baffling smash-hit, wasn’t enough, Stephenie Meyer has written another book. Her latest offering, The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, as the name tells you, is the concise (mercifully!) tale of the “vampiric” existence of Bree Tanner.

Asperger’s syndrome: An autism spectrum disorder that is characterised by significant difficulties in social interaction, along with restricted and repetitive patterns of behaviour and interests.