Complete book coverage for August 2, 2009

Crime-solving heroines explore queasy territory in new books by Karin Slaughter and Teri Coyne.

Southern California’s 1960s past reemerges from the haze in this Chandler-like tale, set in the age of cannabis.

From “Inherent Vice” Sunrise was on the way, the bars were just closed or closing, out in front of Wavos everybody was either at the tables along the sidewalk, sleeping with their heads on Health Waffles or in bowls of vegetarian chili, or being sick in the street, causing small-motorcycle traffic to skid in the vomit and so forth.

Two books about the mournful, yet optimistic search for human solidarity across cultures, distances and time.

How do you defend privacy in a world were people like to be watched?

A writer who forged a unique identity in between worlds.

A poet’s final words are telling, right on target in this posthumous collection.

A portrait of dangerous minds, haunting and persuasive.

Is there a subtle art to the way we inscribe books for others? You bet there is.

A cautionary tale of boho dilettantes and one doomed coffeehouse.

Fiction Weeks on list1.Shanghai Girls by Lisa See (Random House: $25) Two sisters from Shanghai encounter tragedy and heartbreak as they are sold into arranged marriages in 1930s Los Angeles.8 2.The Help by Kathryn Stockett (Putnam: $24.95) The lives of a maid, a cook and a college graduate become intertwined while changing a Mississippi town. 8 3.Swimsuit by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro (Little, Brown: $27.99)A supermodel disappears from a photo shoot in Hawaii.4 4.Rain Gods by James Lee Burke (Simon & Schuster: $25.99) The sheriff of a tiny Texas town investigates the mass murder of illegal immigrants on the Mexican border.15.The Angel’s Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón (Doubleday: $26.95) A novelist in 1920s Barcelona takes a dangerous writing assignment.56.Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown: $19.99) Bella must choose between her lover and a friend, between life and death.547.Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown: $22.99) The final book in the “Twilight” saga finds Bella choosing immortality. 518.Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner (Atria: $26.99) Two childhood friends on the outs since high school reconnect when one is in trouble.19.The Defector by Daniel Silva (Putnam: $26.95) When a Russian defector disappears, Gabriel Allon is forced to track down a deadly arms dealer.1 10.Finger Lickin’ Fifteen by Janet Evanovich (St.

Fiction 1. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson ($14.95) 2.