Complete book coverage for Nov. 8, 2009

Give the sleuth a vacation, kill someone close to them or, in Marcia Muller’s case, try something even more drastic.

‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies’ and the like are literary concoctions that have momentary entertainment value, but the masterpieces that spawned them will live on.

Four new books take different approaches in sizing up the events in Eastern Europe before, during and beyond 1989.

The poet’s memoir of her alcoholic days, doomed marriage and eventual redemption is light on the misbehavior compared with others in the genre.

Granta editor John Freeman argues for slower, more thoughtful correspondence between people in the book ‘The Tyranny of E-mail.’

A plea against cruelty to animals draws on the author’s family history and personal circumstances as a young father.

Munro’s short stories tackle the strokes of fate that so often determine the shape of a life.

The history found of a people found in a sandwich.

A look back on the messy, hopeful chaos of the ‘60s by one who was there.

In the town of Switchblade, a girl named Belle is attracted to a pale, reclusive boy who may be a vampire - or something else very unromantic.

Plus: ‘Why Architecture Matters,’ by Paul Goldberger; ‘Why School?’ by Mike Rose

Fiction Weeks on list1.Nine Dragons by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown : $27.99) An LAPD detective travels to Hong Kong to solve the murder of a Chinese immigrant.3 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. 22 3.The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown (Doubleday: $25.99) Harvard professor Robert Langdon uses his symbology skills to find a missing Freemason in Washington, D.C.7 4.Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days by Jeff Kinney (Amulet: $13.95) Greg desires to spend summer vacation indoors despite his mother’s wishes for outdoor family fun. 35.The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R.

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