Dark Passages: How to freshen up a detective series

Give the sleuth a vacation, kill someone close to them or, in Marcia Muller's case, try something even more drastic.

'When the Game Was Ours'

Larry Bird and Magic Johnson look back on the era when they ruled -- and transformed -- the NBA.

Mike Roselle and 'Tree Spiker'

In his book, Roselle details his work with Earth First! and other direct-action environmental groups.

'The Man Who Loved Books Too Much' by Allison Hoover Bartlett

A thief and a detective are bound by a passion for rare volumes.

'Superfusion' by Zachary Karabell

With the economies of the U.S. and China becoming more entangled, the rest of the world can only look on nervously and ponder the long-...

Stephen Elliott is an open book in 'The Adderall Diaries'

The author draws upon his dark history amid boho Frisco in his searingly honest book.

'The Lacuna' by Barbara Kingsolver

The novel follows Russian revolutionary Trotsky as he stays in exile with Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, and the aftermath of his murder.

'The Union of Their Dreams' by Miriam Pawel

An unsettling look at key figures relegated to working in labor icon Cesar Chavez' shadow, and how that situation came about.

'The Suicide Run: Five Tales of the Marine Corps' by William Styron

Unpublished stories and fragments from the late author show false starts and digressions as he developed his signature style.

William T. Vollmann: The dispassionate chronicler

This time, that mix of empathy and distance, that need to look at everything with an outsider's eye, is trained on Imperial County.

'The Humbling' by Philip Roth

An aging actor finds temporary relief from thoughts of his mediocrity in a wild affair that proves to be more risky than he expected.

The Siren's Call: Jesus in the East; two extraordinary Victorian ladies

Reviews of Alan Jacobs' "When Jesus Lived in India" and Janet Soskice's "The Sisters of Sinai."