Local offerings | Drama, humor and sea life

Local books |

Suspense, drama, romance — and cephalopods — fill the pages of new books by Northwest authors.

"Guardian of Lies" by Steve Martini (Morrow, $26.99). The new novel by the Bellingham writer involves "Cold War secrets, a rare coin dealer who once worked for the CIA, and a furious assassin." The protagonist, as always, is defense attorney Paul Madriani.

"Invisible China: A Journey through Ethnic Borderlands" by Colin Legerton and Jacob Rawson (Chicago Review Press, $24.95). Rawson, a University of Washington graduate student of Chinese and Korean linguistics, and translator/documentary filmmaker Legerton traveled 14,000 miles through China to write this book about "China's hidden minorities and their complex position in Chinese society."

"Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition" by Shauna O'Reilly and Brennan O'Reilly (Arcadia, $21.99). Photo-history of Seattle's first world's fair, held in 1909.

"The Last Summer of Her Other Life" by Jean Reynolds Page (Avon, $13.99). The Seattle author's fourth novel concerns a pregnant 39-year-old woman who comes home to North Carolina from California to tend to her dying mother — only to be blindsided there by a local teenage boy who accuses her of "inappropriate sexual conduct." Page reads 7 p.m., July 13, Third Place Books, 17171 Bothell Way N.E., Lake Forest Park, free (206-366-3333 or www.thirdplacebooks.com).

"Love in Bloom" by Sheila Roberts (St. Martin's Griffin, $13.95). A novel by a Bremerton author about a florist and breast-cancer survivor who, after undergoing a mastectomy, has to address "some serious fears about dating."

"Black Leapt In" by Chris Forhan (Barrow Street Books, $16.95). A collection of verse by a writer originally from Seattle who draws heavily on boyhood memories of the city and his family.

"Gothic Charm School: An Essential Guide for Goths and Those Who Love Them" by Jillian Venters, illustrated by Pete Venters (Harper, $13.99). Seattle's self-dubbed "Lady of the Manners" explains why "being a polite Goth is much, much more subversive than just wearing T-shirts with 'edgy' sayings on them."

"Super Suckers: The Giant Pacific Octopus and Other Cephalopods of the Pacific Coast" by James A. Cosgrove and Neil McDaniel (Harbour, $26.95). A guide to the many-armed creatures dwelling along the coasts of the North Pacific. With color photographs. Co-author Cosgrove is a former "display diver" at the Pacific Undersea Gardens in Victoria, B.C.

"The Other" by David Guterson (Vintage, $15). New in paperback: the latest novel by the Bainbridge Island author ("Snow Falling on Cedars"). The plot focuses on two tightly connected schoolboy friends who take very different paths in life. Seattle Times book editor Mary Ann Gwinn commented, "Much of this story is mesmerizing, even heartbreaking."

Michael Upchurch: mupchurch@seattletimes.com