The Invisible Ones by Stef Penney
(Putnam, hardcover, $25.95)

It starts with a mystery: what happened to Rose? But unlike most mysteries, it is not driven by a complicated plot with many twists and turns, but instead is driven by its compelling characters and atmosphere. Though then ending was definitely unexpected, I soon found myself thinking of the book as a story of the gypsy way of life rather than a myster. Penney expertly transports the reader to a world of gypsies/travelers in 1980s England. While it is a search for answers to what happened to Rose, it is really the story of this fascinating family to fringe-dwellers, both physically and literally, who are struggling to keep their traditions and culture in an ever-modernizing world. Having grown up in an area of SC with a large enclave of Travelers, I was especially fascinated with a lot of the superstitions and beliefs that fed their every day actions. The structure of the book was quite different, but I came to like the way it almost started in the middle and then had overlapping narrations draw the story slowly together. A January 2012 Indie Next Pick and the January pick for our Signed First Editions Club.

-Recommended by Nancy McFarlane, store employee