Greek Myths: A New Retelling by Charlotte Higgins (Drawings by Chris Ofili) (Pantheon). Some familiar books and stories might come to mind as we read through these myths—but few of us are, in our everyday lives, so freshly familiar with this literature that those myths will occur to us as we’re reading the contemporary works/derivatives. And nowhere in that line of thought is there a reason to read this book (or not), anyway. You should read it just because it’s a consistent pleasure to read. That’s how good Higgins is, simply as a writer; her scholarship can be detected if you stop to think about it, but you probably won’t. It’s not for kids, but for just somewhat educated grown-ups; the myths are told us, here, as stories, adventures and rivalries, triumphs and heartbreaks, all that—and are meant to be read for pleasure and not for adding to one’s virtue or to catch up with better educated friends (or rivals). I mean—I guess it would accomplish some of that, but you needn’t have that motivation to open it up, and you’ll soon forget that as you get into these adventures, anyway. Higgins makes some choices that you’ll scarcely notice unless you’re already deeper into this literature than I am (for instance, every character has a Greek name, even though a few of the stories are known to scholars as originally Roman; which actually sounded faintly familiar when she pointed it out in a preface). So, you probably get a little smarter, or better educated, anyway, in the reading. But never mind; if that ever occurs to you again, it will just add to the pleasure.

The Final Case by David Guterson (Knopf). A suspense novel of the courtroom drama category, is the obvious form of this novel by the anything but prolific author of Snow Falling On Cedars, the substantial bestseller of twenty years or so ago. This is the same sort of book, which is to say, about equally a literary novel—it’s beautifully, if un-showily, written—and a “category” entertainment. The central character here is an old lawyer, barely practicing any more but irresistibly drawn to the case in hand, with the help of his lawyer son. Guterson surely either is, or at least knows well, somebody like that; his book is deeply engrossing and moving.

End of Days: A Pike Logan Novel by Brad Taylor (Morrow). This is the sixteenth of this great series of espionage novels salted with military action; the column has liked and admired them, every one, and still does.

A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham (Minotaur). A first novel shouldering aside other books in this crowded field—psychological suspense, not a branch of thrillers that we’ve noticed is starving for talent. But this one is both very high energy and carefully, cleanly written, line by propulsive line—and introduces us to a smart, wonderfully brave (but smart, I said; so, not fearless) narrator.