Best fiction 2005

MARCH, by E.L. Doctorow (Random House, $25.95)

This fictionalized version of Sherman's march through Georgia is gritty, heartrending, and memorable. (9/20/05)

ANANSI BOYS, by Neil Gaiman (William Morrow, $26.95)

Charlie Nancy, an easily embarrassed London accountant, attends his father's funeral only to discover that his dad was an African trickster god and he has a brother named Spider who inherited his father's gifts. From there, events in this funny, creative novel spin out of control. (9/23/05)

FRIENDS, LOVERS, CHOCOLATE, by Alexander McCall Smith (Pantheon, $21.95)

In this enjoyable follow-up to "The Sunday Philosophy Club," Scottish philosopher Isabel Dalhousie helps a client who is troubled by visions even as she edits a journal on applied ethics and moonlights as a shopkeeper. (9/23/05)

THE SEA, by John Banville (Knopf, $23)

Irish writer John Banville shines as a stylist in this Booker prizewinner about a widower drawn to the Irish Sea and memories of his childhood as he processes his grief. (11/8/05)

THE LINCOLN LAWYER, by Michael Connelly (Little Brown, $26.95)

No, he's not as honest as Abe - he just happens to drive a big Lincoln Town Car. But Mickey Haller, defense attorney and latest creation of bestselling thriller writer Michael Connelly seems destined for success. This book is a smooth read, with some especially good courtroom scenes. (10/14/05)

IN THE SHADOW OF THE LAW, by Kermit Roosevelt (Farrar Straus and Giroux, $24)

This intricate, intelligent legal thriller is a debut novel for Kermit Roosevelt who's also a law professor and a former Supreme Court clerk. (And yes, he's one of those Roosevelts.) It tells the tale of three young law firm associates working to defend a chemical plant against a class action suit. (8/26/05)

A SLIGHT TRICK OF THE MIND, by Mitch Cullin (Nan A. Talese/Doubleday, $23.95)

This portrait of Sherlock Holmes after World War II is perhaps more of a character sketch than a mystery. But fans of Holmes will enjoy getting one more glimpse of the master, now 90, living with his housekeeper and her son. (5/10/05)

THE FINAL SOLUTION, by Michael Chabon (HarperCollins, $16.95)

More of a real mystery is "The Final Solution" by Pulitzer Prize-winner Michael Chabon. Chabon also visits Sherlock Holmes as an elderly man, but in this story Holmes comes out of retirement to reunite a mute refugee boy with his beloved parrot. (5/10/05)

TILT-A-WHIRL, by Chris Grabenstein (Carroll & Graf, $23.95 )

When a billionaire tycoon is shot dead on an amusement park ride, straight-arrow police officer John Ceepak is the first to arrive at the scene. The investigation that follows tests Ceepak's code of honor even as it provides the reader with a story that is funny, smart, and smoothly written. (10/7/05)

DELIGHTS & SHADOWS, by Ted Kooser (Copper Canyon Press, $15)

A sense of wonder and compassion runs through this Pulitzer-Prize-winning volume of verse by America's poet laureate. Kooser's poetry is understated yet manages to skillfully illuminate the small moments of life. (4/26/05)

SEARCH PARTY: COLLECTED POEMS, by William Matthews (Mariner Books, $15)

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