'The Lufthansa Heist' Is No Score
The famous 1978 Lufthansa robbery is a great crime story — it was even a plot point in GoodFellas. But a new book about the heist falls flat, hampered by purple prose and pointless details.
Books
'Two Across' Spells Out A Charming Love Story In Crosswords
Jeff Bartsch's new novel is about a brainy couple who, after meeting at a 1960s spelling bee, conduct their troubled love affair through secret clues in the crosswords they compose for newspapers.
Reflecting On Football And Addiction As 'Friday Night Lights' Turns 25
A quarter-century ago, Buzz Bissinger wrote about the big-time stakes of small-town high school football in Friday Night Lights. Now he talks about the impact the book had on the players and himself.
The Bonds Of Friendship Stay Strong In 'Stranger'
Newbery Medal-winning author Rebecca Stead says her latest, Goodbye Stranger, is about love and how it helps a trio of seventh-grade girls stay friends through the challenges of middle school.
At Some Stores, Readers Can Go Get A Refund For 'Watchman'
Harper Lee's Go Set a Watchman has sold millions of copies, but some feel it has not lived up to the hype. A bookstore owner in Traverse City, Mich., is giving readers a refund — and an apology.
Exploring The 'Wild And Haunting World Of Dolphins'
In her new book, Voices in the Ocean, Susan Casey describes the life of dolphins and details some new threats the animals face, such as organized dolphin kills and man-made sounds in the ocean.
Complex, Generational Music In Lyrical 'Daughters'
Women are the blood and backbone of Adrienne Celt's debut novel, and at the heart is Lulu, who's revisiting family stories and legends as she comes to terms with her daughter's birth and an old curse.
'Dragonfish' Offers A Noir Vision Of An 'American Dream Gone Rancid'
The debut novel by Vu Tran is a crime drama involving a white cop, his Vietnamese-born ex-wife and her new husband, a violent crime boss. Maureen Corrigan calls Dragonfish a "haunting literary novel."
Aviator Beryl Markham Soars Again In 'Paris Wife' Author's New Book
"It is my fate to illuminate the lives of these one-of-a-kind notable women that have been somehow forgotten by history," says Paula McLain. She shines her spotlight on Markham in Circling the Sun.
'Fifth Season' Embraces The Scale And Complexity Of Fantasy
Yes, N.K. Jemison's newest epic is the kind of fantasy that has not one but two glossaries at the end — but reviewer Jason Heller says that just underscores her sumptuous detail and dimensionality.