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LATEST ISSUE OF
Kirkus Reviews
Best-seller Jeannette Walls talks about mining her own history for her new novel, The Silver Star.
Kirkus Star
THE KIRKUS STAR
Awarded to Books of Exceptional Merit

BROWSE BOOK REVIEWS



New and Notable Fiction for August

Cover art for BACK OF BEYOND
FICTION
Released: Aug. 2, 2011
Kirkus Star BACK OF BEYOND
by C.J. Box
"Once again, Box provides the complete suspense package: unobtrusively slick detection, buckets of surprises and mounting thrills, all amid his trademark settings in the majestic high country."
A second standalone from the chronicler of Twelve Sleep County Game Warden Joe Pickett (Cold Wind, 2011, etc.) takes a Montana cop deep into the wilds of Yellowstone National Park in the hope of protecting his teenaged son from a determined killer. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE CALL
FICTION
Released: Aug. 2, 2011
Kirkus Star THE CALL
by Yannick Murphy
"A triumph."
As Murphy's sixth book for adults (Signed, Mata Hari, 2007, etc.) gets started, a large-animal veterinarian in rural New England faces various small uncertainties: an iffy economy, weird recurrent lights in the night sky, a marriage in which there are minor flare-ups. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE FAMILY FANG
FICTION
Released: Aug. 9, 2011
Kirkus Star THE FAMILY FANG
by Kevin Wilson
"A fantastic first novel that asks if the kids are alright, finding answers in the most unexpected places."
The grown children of a couple infamous for their ostentatious performance art are forced to examine their own creativity and flaws in the shadow of their unusual upbringing. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE GENTLEMEN'S HOUR
FICTION
Released: Aug. 2, 2011
Kirkus Star THE GENTLEMEN'S HOUR
by Don Winslow

The Southern California kingpin of the surf-and-drugs thriller should extend his popular domain with this novel. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE LEFTOVERS
FICTION
Released: Aug. 30, 2011
Kirkus Star THE LEFTOVERS
by Tom Perrotta
"There's even a happy ending of sorts, as characters adapt and keep going, fortified by the knowledge that they "were more than the sum of what had been taken from" them."
A bestselling novelist returns with his most ambitious book to date. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE MAGICIAN KING
FICTION
Released: Aug. 9, 2011
Kirkus Star THE MAGICIAN KING
by Lev Grossman
"Fabulous fantasy spiked with bitter adult wisdom--not to be missed."
Now a king in the magical land of Fillory, Quentin embarks on a quest to save the universe in Grossman's searing sequel to The Magicians (2009, etc.). Read full book review >