TROUBLE THE SAINTS by Alaya Dawn Johnson (Tor). Opening this week with yet another young literary writer, one of particularly brave imagination and daring style. This is alternate-history fiction (World War II is looming in a nation and world not precisely like the one we know). Johnson is well known and wins awards in science fiction, and that really is what this is, though it's a lot more, too. Beautifully written, exhilarating in that way especially, but also vividly realistic about violence, about identity, about America. And its central characters, some of them as deadly as they are endearing, will live in your head for a long time. It's a New York City novel, essentially, but a little of it is set in our (general) neck of the woods.

THE BIG BOOK OF MODERN FANTASY, ed. by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer (Vintage). Vintage regularly produces intelligently curated and big, well produced “quality” (trade) paperback anthologies of this general sort—but this one outdoes even their reliably generous line. In nearly 900 pages it gives us more than 90 stories, some novella length, by a range of writers beginning with the “category” names (not a few of them seriously admired beyond fandom—Ursula LeGuin, Samuel R. Delany, others who certainly should be—an especially lovely Joanna Russ story); to serious entertainers like Stephen King, Shirley Jackson (not “The Lottery”); literary masters—Nabokov, Garcia Marquez, more; and plenty you never heard of, some translated into English especially for this volume. There will be dragons, but usually not. The thing to do (I'm finding) is, plop it on your nightstand and read one or so every night or so, whatever else you're in the middle of. Your dreams will reward you for it. For months.

CUT TO THE BONE by Ellison Cooper (Minotaur). This highly charged police procedural/thriller series, one of those set in D.C. with no special focus on politicans and the like, hasn't disappointed yet (this is #3). It's built around an impressive and likable neuroscientist/detective, and the books are as thoughtful as she is, and bring even minor characters to at least momentary life. These are books you'll gladly give all your attention to, all the way through.

HOUSE PRIVILEGE by Mike Lawson (Grove). This is one of the best ever of this longtime column-favorite series, also set in Washington (generally), and rather sophisticated. This is the “fixer” Joe DeMarco, who operates, genially until hard is required, on several social levels. His client the Speaker of the House asks for his help in looking after his goddaughter, who has just been orphaned, and inherited tons of money. In Boston. Where, DeMarco discovers, seriously bad characters—there's no shortage of them in Boston—have become interested in her.