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    		•  July paperback releases offer good choices for reading groups

    REVIEWS BY JULIE HALE

    Cover The Keep
    Egan's third novel is a chilling modern-gothic story set in Manhattan and Europe. The story's narrator, a convict named Ray, is spinning the tale for his prison creative writing class, in hopes of getting close to his teacher. The story he conjures up centers on Danny and Howard, cousins who come together in Eastern Europe at a medieval castle they've agreed to renovate. At the castle, they leave the trappings of civilization behind: There's no cell phone service, no TV and the roads in are nearly impassable. Free from the cares of the everyday world, the cousins have strange experiences. Danny encounters a beautiful baroness on the property, but he's uncertain if she really exists. His attempts to set up a satellite in order to connect with the outside world are foiled when the dish goes missing. As it turns out, Danny and Howard were both the victims of a childhood prank, an incident that has never been forgotten, and their reunion brings back old memories, leading to a showdown of sorts that nearly destroys them both. Taut and original, this spellbinding novel is a formidable addition to Egan's growing body of work, which includes the best-selling novel, Look At Me. A reading group guide is available in print and online at www.readinggroupcenter.com.

    Cover The Poe Shadow
    A "Good Morning America" reading pick, this best-selling follow-up to The Dante Club is another suspenseful, richly detailed blend of fact and fiction. Set in 1849, the novel focuses on the mysterious death of Edgar Allan Poe and the attempts of a determined young lawyer named Quentin Hobson Clark to bring the famous author's life to some sort of closure. After a bout of drunkenness and a stay in the hospital, Poe is laid to rest in an unmarked grave in Baltimore. Yet, the details surrounding his demise are unclear, and no one, including the police, seems interested in investigating them. Clark, a fan of the writer, undertakes an investigation of his own, traveling to Paris to find the man who served as the inspiration for Poe's famous character, the detective C. Auguste Dupin. But in Paris he discovers two men purporting to be Poe's model, and deciding which one is telling the truth soon becomes a matter of life and death. Pearl adds layers of suspense to the narrative in the form of a lady assassin, various political mercenaries and slave traders. His expert handling of historical detail, including the life of Poe and the muddy circumstances surrounding his last days, make this novel especially appealing. A reading group guide is included in the book.

    Cover The End of California
    Yarbrough's fourth novel is set in familiar territory—the town of Loring, Mississippi, where two of his previous books, Visible Spirits and Prisoners of War, take place. While those novels—works of historical fiction—were set solidly in the past, his latest narrative is a modern tale of marriage and family. Pete Barrington, the protagonist, is a Loring native who left the South for California, where he attended medical school and raised a family. When a controversial scandal causes him to return to Mississippi 25 years later, the move home turns out to be a life-altering one—in ways Pete never expected. Along with Angela, his wife, and their teenage daughter, Toni, Pete embarks on a new life in Loring, opening his own medical practice. But he soon crosses paths with Alan Depoyster, an old acquaintance, who hasn't forgotten a grievance dating back to their teenage years. The incident is hard to dismiss: Alan's mother had an affair with Pete, which led to the break-up of the Depoyster family. Pete's past comes back to haunt him, as he and Angela experience their own marital problems, and Alan decides to exact revenge. Yarbrough, who was born in Mississippi and now teaches creative writing in California, has an ear for dialogue and a gift for conjuring up memorable characters. In The End of California, he offers a tense, atmospheric narrative that captures the friction of marriage, as well as the hardships involved in homecoming.

    Has your club recently read an excellent book that sparked good group discussion? If so, BookPage would like to hear about it. Contact us at reading@bookpage.com with a description of the book and the reasons for your recommendation. We'll pass the top choices along to our readers.

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