Hannah Masury, for a brief time, was a pirate. At least, according to the mysterious manuscript that shows up on Professor Marian Beresford’s desk, brought by a student excited at the possibility of finding the treasure that Hannah left behind.

Novelist and historian Katherine Howe embarks on a dazzlingly fun historical fiction, “A True Account: Hannah Masury’s Sojourn Amongst the Pyrates, Written by Herself: A Novel” — aptly named given the way it tests the boundaries between reality and imagination.

When undergrad Kay Lonergan brings Hannah’s found manuscript to her professor, Marian’s years of cynicism have hardened her. She highly doubts its authenticity and even points out the more doubtful details, verging on breaking the fourth wall. But Kay persuades Marian to approach her famous explorer of a father and persuade him, and his expedition society club, to back their trip in search of long-lost pirate booty.

The further the story gets, the more it seems that Kay is everything Marian wishes she was: young, exciting, fashionable, carefree, commanding, self-assured. But Hannah’s manuscript might be just the thing to spark some excitement into Marian’s dull life — and to finally win her father’s attention and approval.

History buffs will appreciate the accurate inclusion of figures such as pirate William Fly and Puritan preacher Cotton Mather. Those who aren’t so thrilled about history will enjoy Hannah’s wry take on the happenings of the early 1700s.

Mirrored in Hannah’s restlessness with the status quo is Marian’s inability to fit into the mold set for women of the early 1900s. She quickly becomes endeared to the young pirate who disguised herself as a cabin boy and went bravely adventuring with one of the world’s most notoriously vicious pirates, Edward Low.

“A True Account” is a slow start that picks up quickly into a wild voyage of satisfying twists and an even more satisfying ending. The story ties threads of fact and fiction into an intricate knot that’s just as enjoyable to look at as it is to untangle. — Donna Edwards, Associated Press

The premise of Tim O’Brien’s “America Fantastica” feels like the standard plot for a crime caper. A JCPenney employee in a small California town walks into a bank to rob it and goes on the run with $81,000 on hand and the teller who has been flirting with him.

But O’Brien is no standard novelist, and “America Fantastica” is anything but a standard novel. O’Brien’s first book in two decades is a funny and sad satire that explores the consequences of misinformation on society.

The protagonist, Boyd Halverson, is the disgraced former reporter and JCPenney employee who strolls into a bank with a gun and a note seeking $300,000 in cash. He walks out with a much smaller amount and Angie Bing, the teller who becomes his somewhat reluctant partner in crime during Halverson’s quest to confront his father-in-law.

They encounter along the way Bing’s boyfriend, Halverson’s ex-wife and a odd assortment of characters, and Halverson is forced to reconcile with a life of lies and deception.

O’Brien portrays disinformation throughout the book as an epidemic that he calls mythomania, recounting familiar lies from political figures in recent years. The extent of that affliction is illustrated by every character who has deceived others or themselves in some fashion. But Halverson has the most to unpack as the novel gradually reveals what led to his downfall, including the death of his toddler son.

It’s a fascinating journey, but one that says as much about the current state of the country as it does about the novel’s chief characters. O’Brien proves that he remains one of the most powerful novelists. — Andrew DeMillo, Associated Press