Sunbirth: A Novel by An Yu (Grove Press). Reviewed by Nicole Yurcaba. “One of the village’s rare places of hope is a small, traditional-medicine pharmacy operated by the story’s narrator, an unnamed young woman whose only living relative, her sister Dong Ji, works at a wellness parlor for Five Poems Lake’s handful of privileged residents. As the sun disappears, everyone struggles to find meaning in their relationships, their existences, and even their doomed futures. Meanwhile, another disturbing occurrence plagues them: Individuals known as Beacons — their heads replaced by searing, blindingly bright light — begin to appear. Dong Ji and the narrator wonder if the Beacons hold the key to understanding their father’s mysterious death many years earlier.”

Autocorrect: Stories by Etgar Keret; translated by Jessica Cohen and Sondra Silverston (Riverhead Books). Reviewed by Karl Straub. “When you find yourself in the thrall of short-story writer Etgar Keret’s fiendishly addictive work, the condition will likely last for some time before you stop to wonder not so much how he does it, but what, exactly, it is that he’s doing. In his latest collection, Autocorrect, Keret has generated 33 more in his seemingly endless flow of short tales, all of them easy to read but tough to pigeonhole. Page-turning entertainment doesn’t usually wrestle with such thorny metaphysical questions or pack in as much mystery as these stories do.”

A Truce That Is Not Peace by Miriam Toews (Bloomsbury Publishing). Reviewed by Patricia Ann McNair. “The fictive organizers see only the surface of these winding narratives, the paths populated by a skunk with distemper that tries to scratch its way into Toews’ home; an ex-husband who lays claim to years of her royalties; a dying mother filled with doubt and humor and a love for Scrabble; a father who orders a ham sandwich (but doesn’t eat it) for what he likely knows will be his last meal; and a sister who, after months of silence and pulling away from those who love her, steps into the path of an oncoming train.”

Chasing Evil: Shocking Crimes, Supernatural Forces, and an FBI Agent’s Search for Hope and Justice by John Edward and Robert Hilland (St. Martin’s Essentials). Reviewed by Diane Kiesel. “In their new book, Chasing Evil, Hilland and Edward expect readers to suspend common sense and take at face value that Edward is the real deal (though Houdini never managed to find him) and that Hilland couldn’t have solved the case of serial killer John Smith — and others in his 25 years at the FBI — without assistance from those who have ‘shuffled off this mortal coil.’ The premise is a large pill to swallow.”

Please Don’t Lie: A Thriller by Christina Baker Kline and Anne Burt (Thomas & Mercer). Reviewed by Alexandra Grabbe. “Kline and Burt skillfully reveal details that eventually provide narrative clarity, ratcheting up the tension with every chapter. Coyotes howl, and a general sense of foreboding prevails. We’re pulled through the story with unexpected surprises and hints that Hayley no longer feels safe in the house she’s been lovingly furnishing over the past month. When she goes to pay for the online purchases and discovers her credit card has maxed out, we realize Brandon may have been more motivated by her inheritance than we were originally led to believe.”

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