New releases - Virginia topics and authors

They were Virginians, cousins and among the most consequential leaders of the United States. But Thomas Jefferson and John Marshall differed profoundly in their politics and greatly disliked each other.

It all came to a head in the seminal legal case of Marbury v. Madison, in which the Marshall Court established the bedrock principle of American law, judicial review, and in so doing established the judiciary as co-equal with the executive and legislative branches of government.

In The Great Decision: Jefferson, Adams, Marshall, and the Battle for the Supreme Court (324 pages, Public Affairs, $26.95), Cliff Sloan and David McKean tell the story behind the story, with sharp and detailed emphasis on the times and the personalities.

Sloan is a former Supreme Court clerk and a former publisher of Slate magazine who practices law in Washington. McKean is a top-level Senate aide and was chief of staff to Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., from 1999 to 2008.

. . .

Batter's a good thing for bread and cakes. But that's not the use it's put to in The Battered Body (301 pages, Midnight Ink, $13.95), the fifth entry in Richmonder J.B. Stanley's "Supper Club" series.

This time out, a famous chef arrives in the Virginia village of Quincy's Gap to make the cake for a Christmas Eve wedding. But the "Diva of Dough" is abrasive and obnoxious, she's murdered, and her body is found covered in cake batter.

Foodies and mystery lovers alike will find Stanley's latest a tasty treat to be savored over a long evening.

. . .

Richmonder Chris Carlton Brown taught teens in a Virginia psychiatric center and in middle school special-education classes and now teaches reading to children with learning disabilities.

So he knows of what he writes in his debut novel, Hoppergrass (240 pages, Henry Holt, $17.95), a murder mystery written for ages 14 and older.

In 1969, Bowser, who is white, arrives at the Hill, an institution for delinquent boys and strikes up a friendship with Nose, who is black. When another boy is killed in an accident and it appears that Nose is going to be blamed, Bowser stands up for the truth.

With themes that touch on racism, adolescence and psychiatry, "Hoppergrass" isn't for the timid, but Brown writes with grace and creativity.

-- Jay Strafford