HOLLOW KINGDOM by Kira Jane Buxton (Grand Central). This is a week with five (count 'em) terrific books; all equally a pleasure to recommend, but the other four are more easily described. This one is both beautifully written and hilarious, science fiction and zombie horror and serious literature, and seemingly by accident kind of virtuous—almost shockingly good-hearted and inspiring. No ordinary (you know, entirely alive) humans are featured here, but the animals, and in particular a certain domesticated crow who is our foul-mouthed narrator, are wicked funny and irresistibly endearing.

LONE JACK TRAIL by Owen Laukkanen (Mulholland). Impossible to overpraise this new series (this is just book 2) by this very strong thriller writer; this is that rough-edged partnership that includes a dog that you like a lot, too, without getting mushy over any of them. Remember his DECEPTION COVE, last year? Of course this one's every bit as good.

THEN SHE VANISHED by T. Jefferson Parker (Putnam). And another thriller guy who must have a separate wing for his awards shelves; this series (the private investigator Roland Ford, who evolves, some, over the series) has been running longer than Laukkanen's new one, and is maybe a touch less gritty—though it's plenty dark enough and no less smart and honest and irresistibly engaging.

THE NIGHT SWIM by Megan Goldin (St. Martin's). Remember last year's brilliant THE ESCAPE ROOM? I told you to read it, so of course you do. Goldin is both ingenious and insightful, and does she ever deliver, suspense and surprises and enough character depth to keep you believing every bit of it and caring how it comes out.

AOC: The Fearless Rise and Powerful Resonance of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ed. Lynda Lopez (St. Martin's). Seventeen essays, from various points of view, some smarter than others but none a waste of time, mostly admiring her a lot (in case that subtitle is too subtle for ya). So did I, even before I read the book; the first time you see her talking, within just a sentence or two you think, Oh! Not just a spicy chica—that mouth is powered by a very high-functioning brain and personality. There's no mistaking that kind of smarts and that seriousness of purpose. Not only fast—sure and clear, and with a long view. It was like seeing Obama at that Convention in '04, recognizing not only the quickness but also the depth—one knew at once: this kid's going to be bigger every year for a long time. I was and am thrilled; you may be horrified; but you may as well get to know her, she's going to be in our lives—well, on our screens, anyway—for a long time.